Faculty of Design

Material Art & Design

Tiange Xiang

Once Upon a Time : Narrative

This brooch serves as memorial jewellery for my loved dog. I hope this piece will comfort me when I am grieving for my dog in the future, as well as resonate with others who have lost their furry family member. Let us stop remembering the sadness of losing, but fill our hearts with the happiness and joy that our furry children brought to us.

“At the end of last October, I suddenly lost my dog, Momoda. I had to spend two months learning the reality of her being gone. As I was trying to find a way out of the pain that I have never had before, I realized that my heart is full of sadness when I think of the little one who has always brought positive emotions to me. She used to have the magic to let inside of me filled with satisfaction and happiness when I was holding her, I could see all the negative vibes rapidly fade away. Until now, it is still hard to accept that I cannot feel her anymore. I know, I had to move on. I guess she does not want me to be sad and depressed when she is remembered, but the joy and satisfaction she brought to me. I would like to make a piece of jewellery that would remind me of the joy of having her, rather than the sadness of losing her.To express my idea of keeping happiness in memory, I applied significant elements that would bring back a fond memory of Momoda to me, which are her favorite ball, the treats she must have every night before bed, and the paw prints she usually left on my pants in rainy days. Those elements would remind me of happiness are high-polished. However, the reality is my baby dog does not exist anymore, so I sandblasted the background to represent my inner sadness and pain. The contrast between high-polished and sand-blasting surfaces is expressing the distinction between memory and reality. Also, the frame of the dog's head is irregular, which is the idea of spreading happiness that I mentioned above, and the high-polished surface symbolizes the happiness of this piece. The tube setting further expresses this idea. Owing to the extended feel of tube setting compared to other setting methods. ”