MY HEART SIDES WITH 'DESTROY'*
We are accustomed to the decorative function of
jewelry. It is meant to adorn us, sometimes to reflect affluence, sometimes to
add splendor and radiance. We want it to be beautiful and forever young – like
ourselves. When it gets damaged, we intervene, we repair it to restore its
original condition.
Apparently, long gone are the days when objects would
accompany us for many years, as our talismans, witnesses to our history. We buy
ever newer ones. They allow us to pretend that time stands still. We do not
want to look at objects aging along with us, as they remind us of our own
passing youth.
"Each object with which we have prolonged contact
becomes, to some extent, a reflection of ourselves"[2]. But we are afraid of aging.
I oppose this way of thinking.
I want to overcome the desire to stop changes, the
desire to halt the process of aging.
I want to allow jewelry to change with time, to remind
us that we are impermanent and in perpetual process, that we ourselves have no
constant form or content.
I have chosen the form of the sphere – perfect,
finite. My spheres, however, are not ideal; in addition, I subject them to
procedures that remove them ever further from perfection. The spheres are
broken, bent. Their coatings are deliberately impermanent. Some I have already
subjected to a degree of damage, others will only start decaying in the process
of being worn. The color will gradually fade, revealing the layer underneath,
creating new compositions independent of my design.
Paradoxically, these destructive actions create new
qualities. By distorting the smooth surface of sheet metal, I obtain new forms;
a faded color reveals another one hidden beneath it. To me, destruction is not
annihilation, but value
This exercise in accepting change, although
intentional and to some extent controlled, is nevertheless a challenge – an
attempt to confront our attachment to that which is beautiful, young and
unblemished.
My heart sides with 'destroy'. The sense of
perishability
Zofia Lisiewicz
*The title
alludes to the song "Z sercem destroj zim
