The Pill version

For the pill version I wanted to explore the perspective of the bride/umakoti. The reason why I chose to use pills is that they usually represent some sort of relief from pain and felt that it would be an interesting concept to play around with as she too is seeking relief. 

Figure 1: Ndongeni, S (2019). Pill version, earrings and pendant. 

I had therefore decide to use actual pills which were then set inside these wire elements, which could also be an indicator of how she feels void of what she is meant to have and the only solution she is able to find inside her is ending her life. I tried to romanticize the idea of suicide with these pieces as I wanted to give the idea that she is drawn into this belief that the afterlife will give her peace; hence the silver. 

Emily Christiana Bryne

I have chosen Emily as one of my designers of choice because she has an interesting approach to her subject matters, which she addresses through the use of narrative jewellery. The main contextual basis for her work is the notion of what may be considered as jewellery and what jewellery is concerning the body.

According to Metcalf, one of the major aspects to contemplate when creating narrative jewellery is the title of the Jewellery item. This is vital as it will help guide others towards their narrative, while also helping them when establishing an understanding of the said work. This is especially important when the artist has chosen to use symbolism which is not familiar or known by their audience.

Figure 1: Bryne, E (2013:24) Green Grass Brooch

This has been one of the constants when it has come to Bryne's work; which is one of the reasons why I have chosen her as an artistic example when trying to establish academic parallels. In Bryne's work, she aims to engage with her audience; this report will therefore be featuring some of her work and explore how she has interpreted narrative jewellery. The picture in figure 1, is an example of her work trying to explore the grass being greener on the other side.

Listed below are the headings which I will be discussing her work under.

a. Interaction series

b. Hives series

Negative space

It is the empty spaces created or formed between the beads. These may be created both intentionally or by chance during the manufacturing process, however, when wanting to create a specific message, feel or theme these are important. In Habing’s design example in the dimensionality section above, one can see the benefits of negative space within a design.