Ivy (Liuyi) Yan

Emergence

Impermanence SeriesRing, 2025

“My body of work explores the concept of impermanence through jewellery design, aiming to represent the coexistence of fleeting beauty and enduring meaning. Impermanence is inspired by natural growth cycles, decay, transformation, and the Chinese philosophical contemplation of transience found in idioms, poetry, and thought. Through my work, I encourage viewers to understand and embrace impermanence, fostering a more spontaneous and appreciative approach to life.I draw visual inspiration from botanical forms—plants, flowers, and vines—that embody constant change. Their natural progression from budding to blooming and withering makes them perfect symbols of life's cycle. Centering my imagery around the epiphyllum flower, a cactus known for its brief, spectacular bloom, I translate its stages—seedling, budding, blooming, and withering into wearable pieces: a "seed" ring, a "seedling" ring, "budding" earrings, a "blooming" necklace, and a brooch enhanced with surface enrichment techniques suggesting decay.Botanical studies guide the organic curves and layered wirework in my designs, while heat-treated copper surfaces mirror the patina of time. Opals, with their iridescent shifts, symbolize how experience and spirit persist through life's inevitable changes. Through these techniques, I convey the ups and downs of life, affirming that even as flowers fade and circumstances evolve, their intrinsic value remains undiminished.Traditionally viewed as permanent, metal in my work is shaped and treated with various surface enrichment techniques to embody ephemeral beauty, reminding us that transformation itself is a form of lasting significance.”