FRAGILITY
Yuqi Fan
United States

To me, “Fragility” emerges in the dynamics of attachment, the way we rely on objects to express ourselves, cherish lost ones, and soothe insecurities. Through jewelry and wearable objects, I explore how these attachments reveal the delicate balance between resilience and vulnerability in human nature. In my work, fragility resides in the delicate relationships between people and the objects they hold dear.
Inspired by the subculture of doll-keeping, I explore how attachment to dolls can compensate for loneliness, offer alternative forms of belonging, and transform inanimate objects into vessels of emotion, memory, and identity. Employing jewelry as a medium to express this attachment, my works reflect a desire for connection in an increasingly detached world.
Through forms that invite touching and handling, my works require care and intimate exchange between wearer and object. The interactions reveal a vulnerability of dependence: we project desires of intimacy onto what cannot respond, yet find comfort in its quiet presence. The jewelry’s fragility is not only physical, but psychological. It expresses a need for tenderness and vulnerability in a world that demands resilience.

Ring « Exchange Rings », 2024
115 × 76 × 76 mm
PLA, soft pastel, spray paint, sterling silver, cubic zirconia
3D Printing

More « FRAGILITY »

Fragility – Pilar Viedma / Spain

FRAGILITYPilar ViedmaSpainIn my work, I explore different ways of applying color to metal with the aim of demonstrating that, in artistic jewelry, what matters is not the material itself, but its ability to communicate with it. A few years ago, I began using the...

Fragility – Eli Hubsch / Israel

FRAGILITYEli HubschIsraelI explore the tension between strength and decay, permanence and transience. Fine silver, soft yet enduring, forms delicate threads and molten structures that embrace rusted iron: a harder metal, yet one that disintegrates with time. The...

Fragility – Lin Stanionis / USA

FRAGILITYLin StanionisUnited StatesFragility can be described as the condition of being delicate or vulnerable. The works submitted for this exhibition embody these characteristics in their forms and associative meanings. In the work, “Seed of Temptation”,...

Fragility – Yael Ouliel / Israel

FRAGILITYYael OulielIsraelThe union of rusted iron and 18-karat gold reveals fragility as a fundamental dimension of matter and existence. The iron, slowly eroded by rust, bears witness to vulnerability and transience, while the gold remains intact, its value unveiled...

Fragility – Beatrice Carlson / New Zealand

FRAGILITYBeatrice CarlsonNew ZealandHow do we refer to Fragility and how do we feel about it in our, somehow, judgemental, competitive society? Looking at synonyms, there is nothing positive about it: delicate, brittle, frail, weak, tenuous. Fragility is what some...

Fragility – Deniz Turan / UK

FRAGILITYDeniz TuranUnited Kingdom“To escape and break free, because we dream of a freer life, to grant ourselves a second chance, to leave the past behind or simply because life flows that way… Whatever the reason may be, alongside all other possibilities, migration...

Fragility – Eiko Nakahara / Japan

FRAGILITYEiko NakaharaJapanThings we believed would never break often turn out to be fragile, brittle, and weak. We sometimes find beauty in broken objects or ruins. Yet even if we perceive life and beauty in fragile, weak things, witnessing the scenes of frequent...

Fragility – Denis Music / Ukraine

FRAGILITYDenis MusicUkraineFragility is a state of tension — between strength and collapse, between freedom and threat, between life and its disappearance. My brooch Black Cloud was inspired by the installation of Ukrainian artist Oleksiy Sai, which rose above the...

Fragility – Agnes WO / Spain

FRAGILITYAgnes WOSpain“At the beginning there is nothing. Then comes a deep void, and beyond it, a blue depth.” These words, drawn from Bachelard’s L’air et les songes and embraced by Yves Klein in Le Vide (1958), open the path for my two pieces. Both arise from the...

Fragility – Isabelle Busnel / France

FRAGILITYIsabelle BusnelFranceThis work looks at fragility through two brooches made from broken jewellery found in flea markets. Each piece is partly lost and incomplete, set in soft silicone and stitched with light punch needle embroidery. The pale blue and pink...