the heritage

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the heritage

A personal study of the brooch as a signal surface.

Eva Skärlund

Konstfack Craft! department

Master 2 Spring 2020

Tutors: Birgitta Burling, Anders Ljungberg, Andrea Peach Word count: 6121

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abstract

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his paper looks at how I as a jeweller can use my craft knowledge to raise awareness of environmental issues. In our society we are informed on a daily basis how elevated average temperatu- res, melting glaciers and forest fires affect and will affect our future, but also future generations’ living conditions on earth.

Despite this, most of us just try to live our lives as usual. But all this information worries me, mostly for the future of my children, and I don’t know how to relate to it. I think about what inheritance I will leave behind.

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n this paper, I explore how I, in my role as a jewellry artist, can contribute to the discussion about the climate. To investigate this, I use theories of semiotics and visual communication as a frame for my work and I have chosen to dig where I stand and use work methods that I can find at home, but which I can also link to my profession as a jeweller. I have collected plastic packaging that is the result of my family’s consumption. With this as a starting point, I have created plastic stones that leads my thoughts to future fossils and the Anthropocene era. My main tool has been the iron, with which I have

achieved heat and a certain pressure to mimic the conditions under which minerals in nature are created. The plastic stones were made into brooches and the work has finally resulted in pictures where my children wear the brooches I have made of our common waste. Both the brooches and the images are linked to the theoretical framework of the paper.

Key words: jewellery, brooches, plastic, climate crisis, semiotics, visual communication, heritage, the Anthropocene

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content

Introduction 6

Intention and Research question 6

Theory and Context 7

Semiotics 7

Visual communication 8

Art giving shape to time 8 Jewellery as a means of communication 9 The Wedgewood Slave Medallion 9

Badges 10

Diplomatic tool 11

Artistic references 12

Methods 14

Discussion 16

Conclusion 22

Finished work 23

References 29

Image references 30

Appendices 32

Reflections 33

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welcome!

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’m worried about the climate. It is concern about our normalized rela- tionship towards climate changes and environmental issues that is so dang- erous to us, which is the starting point in my work. For me, my work is a way to address my concern, to give the climate a voice. In my own language. My climate worries do not really concern myself. I´m a privileged white woman living in a part of the world, not that affected by the climate changes yet. I´m concerned about

my family. I have kids and I keep thinking of what kind of world they and their future families will face. What legacy are we leaving for our kids? My own children may inherit freckles and an artistic sen- se, but they, along with all other children, may also take on a climate in crisis and large piles of plastic.

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lastic today is part of almost eve- rything we humans do and is, of course, integrated in our everyday li-

ves. However, a lot of plastic, including plastic packaging, is used only once and contributes to a large amount of plastic entering the natural environment (Brooks, Amy L et al 2018:1). Due to the long degradation time of the plastic, our children and grandchildren will inherit all the plastic manufactured to date.¹

1. Additional facts about plastic can be found in appendix 1.

introduction

intention and research question

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y exam project is based on my climate anxiety and this paper intends to investigate areas around jewelry as a method of communication, heritage, the Anthropocene as the new geological era, the image and visual communication as a reinforcement tool and semiotics as the method of analysis. The environmental issue is more relevant than ever. We are fed with news articles and posts on social media showing terrible images from environmental disasters, starving polar bears and charts that show us how the Arctic ice is rapidly melting. Despite all this information, we live our lives as usual.

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hope my studio work and this paper somehow will contribute to the ong- oing discussion about climate changes and environmental issues. My intention with my work is not to find a solution to the climate crisis, but I believe in art as an important influencing factor that gives me the opportunity to inspire or make an impression on people based on my practice. Perhaps art can make us perceive values that we do not pay attention to otherwise.

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n order to have the possibility to discuss my concerns and hopefully have

the opportunity to influence, I have chosen to concentrate my paper on the research question: How can I discuss and raise awareness of sustainability and environmental issues with my jewellery?

”How can I discuss and raise awareness of sus- tainability and environ-

mental issues with my

jewellery?”

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his exam paper assumes that people can read and interpret signs and see them as a kind of message. The paper is also based on the fact that images make an impression on people and that art has an important role as an influencing factor. Further- more, the paper seeks to highlight the role of jewellery as a bea-

rer of messages and, in particular, the tradition of the brooch as a propaganda- and statement jewellery. The following chapter describes previous research and theory in this area.

theory and context

semiotics

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s a theoretical framework for my exam paper, I have used the semiotic theories around the interpretation of signs, for example, gestures, images and physical objects. Semiotics is described as an analytical method for exami- ning communication through signs. The name originally comes from Greek were semaion means sign. The method inclu- des both the production of characters, the use and seeing and interpretation of characters. As stated by Yvonne Eriks- son, PhD in art science and professor of information design at Mälardalen Uni- versity, and Anette Göthlund, PhD in Communication and Professor of Image Education at Konstfack (2012: 42), semiotics assumes that one has the opportunity to interpret these signs and read them as a kind of message. Semiotics is based on studies of character, categories and how they occur in human consciousness during experiences of the outside world.

According to Gert Z Nordström (2009:

77), professor of visual pedagogy at HDK,

University of Gothenburg, there are several steps in the semiotic process. The two most central parts of the semiotic analysis method are denotative description and connotative description. The denotative description aims to make us aware of the whole object so that we do not over- look any parts (Lindgren & Nordström 2009: 69). The connotative description involves the identification and evaluation of the analysis object, which is influenced by both cultural and personal experiences (Eriksson & Göthlund 2012: 44).²

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riksson and Göthlund (2012: 42) write that the usefulness of semiotics has been questioned and criticized but that it is now seen as an established method for object or image analysis, for example. Gillian Rose, philosopher, (2001: 97) argues that the method can be called into question. How are the images to be analysed selected? Are they repre- sentative of their genre? Rose (2001: 98) further considers that semiotics tends to

complicate the terminology of the analysis, sometimes completely unnecessarily, which makes the use of the method more difficult. Rose (2001: 15 - 16) also believes that it is important to have a critical approach in working with images and to be aware of how one’s own background can influence the way one sees and interpret objects, characters and images.

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y work is intended to influence and touch and hopefully lead to thoughts and a change in behavior in the long run. By working with plastic from my own recycling, by trying to make the plastic beautiful to attract an interest and by using my own children as models for my work, I create links to the semiotic analysis method.

2. A more detailed description of semiotics as method of analysis can be found in appendix 2.

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visual communication

art giving shape to time

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nn-Louise Sandahl (2016:17), artist, writes in her thesis Temporalitet i visuell kultur: om samtidens heterokrona estetiker (Temporality in visual culture:

on contemporary heterochronous aesthetics) that the traditional, western, way of measuring time is not enough to cal- culate complicated as well as very short or long-term time aspects such as climate change. Here art can have a significant role in treating the time in new ways. She believes that the works of art that she has examined in her thesis present time in several different ways. Compared to traditional clock time, the timings are complex and sensual and contribute to ex-

panding the concept and understanding of time and space (2016:225). Sandahl believes that art’s way of giving shape to time is a key factor in the work of getting into the climate crisis and making an impression on people’s behavior, both in the short and the long term (2016:226).

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o me, arts and crafts in general are a significant force for influencing people. Through crafts, it is possible to interpret an event in a new and different way, compared to traditional information through text or numbers.

Sandahl (2016:226) claims that art is a key factor in making an impression on

people, which is in good agreement with both semiotical- and visual communication theories presented earlier. Since my exam project revolves around the question of how I can raise awareness through my jewellery, these types of connections are very important to me in my work and clarifies how important craft’s role in a future society is.

”To me, arts and crafts in general are a significant force for

influencing people.”

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ose (2001:6), believes that visual communication is central to the creation of our contemporary Western societies. A large part of how we are expected to live is conveyed through visual images of various kinds. Rose (2001:6) claims that all these images give us an idea of the world but that images are never innocent. There is always a filter, an underlying purpose, technology or knowledge, and the images give us an interpretation, not the truth. Eriksson and Göthlund (2012:18) like Rose, says that images are more than just an aest- hetic expression. They point out that

images carry political, cultural and social meaning and emphasize that each composition contains communicative aspects, in addition to the aesthetics. As both Rose and Eriksson and Göthlund mean, photographs contain an ang- led image of reality (2001:6, 2012:18).

Rose as well as Eriksson and Göthlund (2001:6-7, 2012:18) mean that the visual culture influences people strongly in today’s society. I’m working with photos in my project and I hope that by using the image in a semiotic way, I can clarify the message I want to convey. I also think that the picture simply makes my work

more easily accessible in a world domi- nated by social media, which is good for my purpose since it is to influence.

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rnamentation has grown and developed alongside human civilization for hundreds of thousands of years.

Jewellery was a marker of affiliation and status and helped to establish a social and personal identity. Jewellery served as communication both within the group, but also in meetings with others, see today’s wedding rings. Unlike body painting and tattooing, jewellery offered a flexibility that made it possible to res-

hape one’s identity means Karen Pontop- pidan (2019:11-12), professor of jewellery art at Akademie der Bildenden Künste München. This way of looking at body or- namentation and jewellery links to both semiotic theories and the theories of visual communication. Semiotic theories states that man can read signs as a type of message (Eriksson & Göthlund 2012:42).

How these messages are interpreted depends, among other things, on cultural

jewellery as a means of communication

background and personal experiences.

In the example with the wedding ring, I think most adult Europeans interpret a smooth ring in the same way. According to Rose (2001:6) visual images of various kinds affects how we choose to create our identity, just as Pontoppidan exempli- fies it. In the next paragraph I give some further examples of how jewellery can be used to communicate a message.

the wedgewood slave medallion

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s an example of communicating jewellery, the Wedgewood Slave Medallion must be mentioned. It di- vided people into groups and served as a statement piece.

In 1787, Josiah Wedgewood (1730-1795), a prominent businessman and one of Britain’s most famous pot- ters, produced a medallion as a personal contribution to the debate on the abolition of slave trade and to promo- te the anti-slave trade movement and bring the abolitionist

cause into the public’s consciousness.

The medallion represents a kneeling slave who asks’ ’Am I not a man and

a brother?’ Originally, the medal- lions were made to be worn by

opponents of slavery for the purpose of recognizing each other. The medallion was worn by both women and men and was customized and personalized in different ways to fit the wearer. The purpose of manufacturing is being debated. Some claim that the medallion was manufactu-

red for marketing purposes, because the anti-slave trade movement was popular and gave the Wedgewood company the right attention. Others believe that by manufacturing the medallion, there was a risk that the company would instead lose customers who did not sympathize with the opinions. Today, however, the Wedgewood medallion is seen as part of the propaganda that was central to the abolition of slavery (Guyatt 2010:34-39).

Image 1. The Wedge

wood Slave Medallion (Sotheby’s no date)

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adges are another type of jewellery that operates as a form of communication and often carry a clear message. The first models of badges appea- red in the late 18th century. They were homemade and sewn on to the garment or used as a pendant. The type of badge used today was first launched in 1893.

The badges were initially manufactured to support candidates in the US presi- dential election. Other industries, such as tobacco and sweets, saw the badges potential in the advertising context and quickly started to use it. Badges have not only been used for advertising, but also in times of war and conflict. By the use of a badge, the wearer was able to show his affiliation in various political issues.

In the end of the 1960s, the badges of political messages also reached Europe. Po- litical views, previously kept secret, could now be publicly displayed (Paul Derrez 2019: 21-23). Visibly worn jewellery can be used for communication and badges often have a very clear message.

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oday, according to Derrez (2019:24), the polarized political debate in society leads many people to think an extra time before choosing to carry a clearly signaled political, religious or social mes-

badges

sage and he finds that increased intole- rance in society leads to self-censorship.

Wearing one of these badges allows you to strengthen your identity and belonging, which can be perceived as both po- sitive and negative by the surroundings.

Both the wearer and the environment are able to read the badge as a message, and this, I mean, can be linked to the semiotic- and visual communication theories that are discussed at the beginning of this paper.

Image 2. Badges, Schmuckismus!, 2019

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diplomatic tool

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ewellery continues to be a powerful means of communication and send signals of belonging and personal and social identity today. Pontoppidan (2019:5) points out that wearing jewellery makes it possible to address issues in several directions. “Jewellery not only allows for questions to be asked of those who wear it, but also gives its wearers the opportunity to raise questions related to their environment” (Pontoppidan 2019:5).

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ne who came to take advantage of this during her political career was Madeleine Albright, American politi- cian and diplomat. She was known to always wear a pin on her jacket during her time as secretary of state and foreign minister. In the introduction to her book Read my pins, David Revere Mc Fadden (2009:11) writes about how Secretary Al- bright used her pins. Albright discovered how the brooch could do as a diplomatic tool when she was in the beginning of the US conflict with Iraq. A poem called

‘To Madeleine Albright Without Gre- etings’, published in Iraqi press, author unknown, referred to Albright as an un- paralleled serpent. Sometime after the poem was published, it was time for an official meeting with Iraq. Albright chose, very consciously, to wear a brooch in the form of a snake.When she later was asked questions about her choice, she replied that it was her way of sending a

message. Without really having a stated goal, jewellery became part of Albright’s instruments in her diplomatic work (Al- bright 2009:17-20).

Image 3. Snake pin belonging to former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Read my pins: stories from a diplomat’s

jewel box, 2009

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s recently as 2017, a member of the British Royal House, Princess Mi- chael of Kent, was accused of racism when she wore a Blackamoor brooch³at the Queen’s Christmas lunch at Bucking- ham Palace. At the lunch, Prince Harry’s fiancée Megan Markle, who is of mixed origin, also attended. Due to The Gu- ardian, Princess Michael of Kent had to apologize for the offence the brooch may have caused (Greenfield 2017). Much has been written in British press about Prin- cess Michael of Kent’s choice to wear the brooch. It has been debated whether she

was aware of the meaning of the brooch or not and if she made a conscious statement by wearing it.

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lackamoor jewelry today bears clear racist connotations, but when this type of jewellery were manufactured in Venice in the 17th century they were seen as a tribute to the ‘exotic Africans’

(Furness, Hannah & Holt, Bethan 2017).

Regardless of the princess’s purpose of wearing the brooch, it can be stated that the brooch now days is read in a semiotic way as racist and that the choice to wear the brooch has caused a great stir.

Image 4. Princess Michael of Kent wearing a Blackamoor brooch, The Guardian, 2017.

3. The word Blackamoor refers to people from North Africa who worked as slaves in wealthy European homes (Dictionary.com, 2020)

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artistic references

”I choose places were me and my family have been. Places I like. Places where my kids have played, we have had a picnic and we’ve rested in fields of spring flowers. The

most beautiful and the plastics. I find that clash really interesting.”

(Käll, no date)

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o place my studio work in an artistic context, I will present some of my artistic references in this section. This is artists that I have been inspired by, that have influenced my work or that have made me feel that what I work with is relevant. Some of them has also helped me to crystallize what is important in my practice

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ooking at my work in relation to other artists, I feel a similarity with Mattias Käll (no date), Swedish artist and illustra- tor. Käll works with photographs and in- stallations to visualize our overconsumption. The work Wrapped up - All plastic waste during one year is about making the plastic visible. He connects his work to his own family and to places they visited. For one year he collected all of his family´s plastic packaging. He saved it in red bags and each month he brought the bags to places he cares for and he and his family has visited. Here he portrays the growing amount of trash in an attempt to make the invisible visible. According to the theories of visual communication, communicating via images is a way of conversation that can be described as central in todays’ Western societies (Rose 2001:6).

Image 5. Part of ’Förpackad/Wrapped Up’, Käll, no date (published with permission)

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”Still, by personalizing the problem of waste – by starting with myself and working outwards from there, I’ve found that some are taking small steps to mitigate the crisis. Reflecting on

the pictures I’ve made, I see 7 Days of Garbage as instant archeology, a

record not only of our waste but of our values

– values that may be evolving a little.”

(Segal 2018)

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nother Swedish artist who works with junk is Johanna Törnqvist (no date). She has received a lot of attention for her work Project Precious Trash where she through clothes comments on our overconsumption, and another project called Side Effects related to the pharma- ceutical industry, interpreted as jewelry.

Törnqvist also combines her craft with photographs to reinforce her message.

In her Project Precious Trash, she used a dump as an environmental setting in the pictures, which gave a clear connection to the material in the dresses.

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et another artist I´m inspired by is Gregg Segal (2018), a photographer active in USA. He uses pictures to explore for example identity and values. His photographs are composed to engage viewers and provoke reflection. He says on his website that he always has been interested in garbage. Questions like Where does it go?, What happens when we run out of places to put it? has puzz- led him. According to Segal the average American generates 29 pounds or 13 kilos of garbage a week.⁴With the work 7 Days of Garbage he attacks the problem

by making it personal. Segal works with his own family, friends and other people close to him. They have been assigned to save their garbage for a week and then lie down to be photographed in them. In this work Segal says garbage is pervasive and no environment is untouched.

4. A comparison to Swedish conditions is made in appendix 3.

Image 6. ’Project Precious Trash’, Johanna Törnqvist, no date (Photo: Fredrik Sederholm)

Image 7. ’7 days of garbage’, Gregg Segal, 2018

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inally, I would like to mention An- nelies Hofmeyr. She is a conceptual artist and former graphic designer from Cape Town, South Africa and is using photography in an inspirational way. She often photographs her work in context, and her purpose is to give meaning to the object by using the body (Fenn 2017:120). By placing the images in the context Hofmeyr herself chooses, she ex- ploits the opportunities of semiotics to influence the viewer.

Image 8. ’Choker’, Annelies Hofmeyr, no date

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ith my background as a goldsmith, I choose to work with jewellery as a method of conveying my thoughts. I have followed a tradition where brooches are used to communicate a message. In my master project it has been important to me to use myself and my family as a starting point. My worries for the climate and the environment are mostly rooted in a concern for my children and that is my reason for making a family-based work.

Segal (2018) and Käll (no date) are both using their families, but Segal also invites close friends. Their art is based on visua- lizing their consumption habits. Trying to make something invisible visible is also a part of my project. Like Käll I also use my children and photography as a method.

One difference, however, as I interpret Käll´s work, is that with help from photos of my children I try to create a ‘time bridge’ forward in time to focus on future generations while Käll portrays a highly current phenomenon. I recognize a lot in Käll’s work, but it doesn’t feel the same way with Törnqvists work even though she, just like Käll, works with consumption critique. Perhaps Käll’s and Segal´s proximity to the family is not the same in Törnqvist’s work. Here I discovered how important the family connection was for

methods

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methods

me in order to create the right approach to my work. For me the closeness, and family makes their work, and hopefully mine as well, very strong and makes it crawl under the skin.

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ust like crafters before me have done, I choose to dig where I stand, although I did not collect seashells, seeds or beautiful stones. Instead my plastic recycling bin became my mine. This is where I explore my precious material. I sort and carefully choose what is to be processed. It is a method I can recognize from both Käll (no date) and Segal (2018). Käll collected all plastic from his family during one year and let it become the essence of his work and just like my project, Segal´s work originates from the idea of how easy and carefree we look at the result of our consumption. By starting from my own consumption, I´m forced to discover the amount of plastic passing through my family every week.

I learn how hard it is to make conscious choices and how impossible it is to avoid plastic in our daily life. Plastic as a material is also a very complex and complicated issue. By working with the plastic that exists in my own home, I take control. I know this plastic. I know how it

came into my home and what choices I made or could have made in relation to the plastic and my consumption.

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hen I work with climate change, time is an aspect I must relate to, because climate change takes place over a very long time which is difficult to gra- sp. Sandahl (2016:225) believes that art can embody an extended concept of time, unlike traditional clock time. I link San- dahl’s thoughts on time to Segal’s work

‘7 days of garbage’. By giving the work a name that refers to a time span, he makes the time visible in his art and, according to me, this is connected to Sandahl’s (2016:226) theories about how art can mirror time. Using this title gives his work a more drawn-out expression of time, perhaps easier to understand than traditional clock time.

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lso, Käll (no date) is working with time when he clearly shows his families plastic packaging collected during a year. Sandahl’s thesis combined with

Roses and Eriksson’s and Göthlund’s (2001:6, 2012:18) views on the impact of the image is something I use in my work.

By combining the brooches with photographs, I reinforce their message. I think that by using the pictures I can to some extent direct the viewer’s impression of my picture. This approach is also sup- ported by the theories of semiotics and visual culture that confirms the power of the image as an influencing factor (Rose 2001:6, Eriksson & Göthlund 2012:42).

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he photographs give me several ad- vantages. When I show my jewellery I easily end up in a traditional viewing situation where the jewellery is displayed in some type of glass cabinet. It makes my work inaccessible to the viewer.

Instead, I want to put my jewellery in a context where I give them a well thought out meaning. For me it is not the jewellery itself that is the final piece of this project. Rather, it is the image that is central, and which is the bearer of the message I want to convey. I use the image in a semiotic way where I load it with meanings, and I find support for my thoughts on the importance of the image in both the semiotic- and visual communication theories.

”This is where I explore my precious material.

I sort and carefully choose what is to be

processed.”

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discussion

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ne of the goals I set for my studies on the master’s program was that I would break away from my previous profession as a goldsmith. My father was also a jeweller so I inherited not only a profession but also a professional pride and a way of looking at jewellery from a jeweller’s perspective. This legacy is heavy to carry sometimes. I was tired of all the rules and the ‘must haves’ with which an old, traditional profession is equipped.

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nstead, I wanted to explore what I could use my craft skills for if I used a personal staring point.My master project rose from my relation to the Baltic Sea, to which I have strong connections since childhood. At the beginning of the project, I was completely focused on the situation there and on the environmental consequences that our way of life has on nature. I made brooches focusing on

water quality and the environmentally harmful chemicals. Chemicals stored in, for example, fish that we are expected to eat, or serve our children, directly or in processed form.

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n my continued project, I wanted to shed light on the amount of plastic in the ocean and I proceeded my work on making a necklace of materials that I found in my plastic recycling. Rather, the focus was on all the amount of plastic produced and on the fact that there is no developed opportunity for good or

extensive recycling or even handling the waste that arises. According to an article on Swedish Radio’s website, each person in Sweden 2019 produces about 130 kg of plastic waste (Wolf-Watz 2020). Despi- te the facts on the enormous amount of plastic waste I’m obviously generating, my own plastic waste wasn’t quite enough for this project. I had to take help from two more families’ recycling bins. It felt important to start from my own plastic consumption or plastic from people close to me, because that’s the only thing I have control over and knowledge of. As I wrote in the method chapter, starting with my own plastic junk gave me the opportunity to collect the plastic for a longer period of time and to really experience the large quantities of plastic that passed through my home.

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started with bags of various kinds that I fused into larger sheets with the help of an iron. Then I cut out circles by hand, which I sorted by color. My goal with the piece of jewelry was to illustrate the se- riousness and the weight that we in the past generations put on the coming ones.

The necklace would be big, awkward and uncomfortable to wear, while I wanted it to be attractive to look at to arouse the

”I was tired of all the rules and the ‘must ha- ves’ with which an old, traditional profession is

equipped.”

Image 9. Fish brooches, Eva Skärlund, 2018

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viewer’s interest. Due to the theories of semiotics man is assumed to have the opportunity to interpret signs and read them as a message (Eriksson and Göth- lund 2012: 42).

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n this work, I supplemented the item itself with a photo of a child wearing the jewelry. I chose the child with care, a boy with big eyes and long hair, who is a friend of the family. For me, it was important that the child was somehow neutral. I didn’t want it to automatical- ly be interpreted as a cute girl wearing a necklace. It was also important that the image did not signal time or space.

For example, I did not want the picture

taken outdoors and it was important to dress the child in a neutral garment.

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n the picture it would be clear that the burden the child carries on his shoulders is too big, too heavy and without the possibility to opt out. The necklace is lay- ing over one of the child’s arms and pre- vents the child’s movements. Semiotics as method of analysis consists of several basic concepts (Lindgren & Nordström 2009: 77). To interpret the picture, the parts about denotativ and connotative description, presented in the beginning of the paper, are central. I thought through the picture carefully to achieve the right communicative aspects for my purpose. According to Rose and Eriksson and Göthlund (2001:6, 2012:x) pictures influences people strongly in today’s society and I wanted to take advantage of those theories.

”In the picture it would be clear that the burden

the child carries on his shoulders is too big, too

heavy and without the possibility to opt out.”

Image 10. Necklace, Eva Skärlund, 2019 (Photo: Filip Leo)

Image 11. Necklace, Eva Skärlund, 2019 (Photo: Zandra Erikshed)

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Image 13. Folded and rolled plastic, Eva Skärlund, 2019 Image 12. Folded and rolled plastic, Eva Skärlund, 2019

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roning the plastic had worked well in my previous project so I also tried it with these small plastic parts. Instead of the traditional tools for a goldsmith the iron and the heat gun became my favou- rites. When the plastic in the surface melted, a pattern emerged that, for me with a background in goldsmithing, reminded me of band agates and malachites. The heat and pressure, which are also com- ponents when ‘real’ minerals are formed, helped to make the plastic even more stone-like and it also brought the plastic into the jewellery field. For example, agate is formed in several different ways. A fossil can consist of agate, since the agate has simply crystallized and taken over the form of a dead plant or animal. Agate can

also be formed in cavities in rocks where silicon and oxygen-rich liquids accumu- late and crystallize over time. Tracers crystallize at different rates and this hel- ps agate to get bands in different colors (Asplund 2012). When the plastic melted together it resulted in the glued piece be- coming more homogeneous and was able to be cut into thinner slices along the surface. I have tried polishing the plastic pieces to get a smooth, glossy surface so that the resemblance of sanded stones would be greater, but it has not succeeded.

Instead, the surface is slightly dull and sometimes a bit peachy. The similarity to precious stones also depends on what colors of the plastic I use or combine.

”The heat and pressure, which are also compo- nents when ‘real’ mine- rals are formed, helped to make the plastic even more stone-like and it also brought the plastic into the jewellery field. ”

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continued to process the plastic I had in my recycling. I was now concentra- ting on bread bags that I thought had a uniform structure and a great richness of colour. I cut, folded, rolled and pasted.

Many times over. The result was small, compact parts. Almost like small stones.

I placed the parts in nature and the connection to stones became even clearer. Is this what the remnants of our time will look like in the future? Like future fossils from the Anthropocene era.⁵

Image 16. Malachite, 2018 Image 17. Ironed plastic, Eva Skärlund, 2019 5. The Anthropocene era is the suggested, new geo-

logical era that, according to the scientists, began in the 1950s. A period in which human activity leaves irreversible traces in the earth’s crust (Davidson 2019).

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made settings, first in silver, and later on in copper to the plastic stones to turn them into brooches. As I wrote in the beginning of the paper, the brooch has a long tradition as a communication tool and as carrier of messages (Pontop- pidan 2019:11-12, Derrez 2019:21-23).

The choice to continue in that tradition was therefore obvious.

I

t is difficult to see what the basic material for the plastic stone actually consists of if you do not know it before. It’s fascinating, I think, that I can turn plastic junk into something unrecognizable. At the same time, I want to contribute to a discussion about the plastic and our way of life, which is why I think it would be

good to see what the brooches were made of. On one of the small plastic stones, text from the plastic bag resigned on the side, which really gave it an extra dimension.

A small detail, but very valuable. This small detail also helped me choose how to make the setting, so that it would be possible to see the side and the backsi- de of the plastic stone. Again, I want the jewelry to communicate a weight that is cumbersome to wear and something that is uncomfortable and forced and that the wearer has not chosen herself. Per- haps it’s not the brooches but the whole work, including the photos, which will be my finished work. I want these pictures to influence the viewer and get them to start thinking about their consumption

and the plastic that usually comes with it. I also hope that both the brooches and the pictures can help to start discussions about our unsustainable way of living.

”I also hope that both the brooches and the

pictures can help to start discussions about

our unsustainable way of living.”

Image 18. Plastic brooches, Eva Skärlund, 2020 (Photo: Filip Leo)

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T

he brooches got quite small and I was really looking for a bigger and hea- vier look, which led me to experiment more and to the idea of combining several plastic stones in the same brooch. As a further experiment I heated the flat parts with hot air gun and then they melted and expanded further so that the shapes became more undulating.

A

s in my previous work with the necklace, I will use photography as part of my method of communicating.

My children will act as models, partly to reconnect work to my family and the basis for my climate concerns, but also to make it clear that it is the children and young people who bear the burden of

our failure regarding the environment.

I can find support for my thoughts both in the theories of visual communication and in Sandahl’s (2016) thesis on how art can depict time in alternative ways.

Another advantage the pictures give me is that they take some space in an exhibition context, unlike the little piece of jewellery, and that they are perfect to use in social media.

I

made the brooches bigger by combining several plastic stones in the same brooch. I also used the bubbly pieces for another brooch. These pieces, which I have heated a little extra, have a me- aty appearance and the brooch is remi- niscent of a tongue. Work on the small brooches also continued. It has resulted in 12 pieces. When I picture them in a photo, I see how they fill the body of the person wearing them, as a rash and I be- live I can use them all in the same image. I think a lot about how the pictures should be designed. I realize that, just like last time, I want to keep the images clean from place, clothes and time as best I can. Although the work is based on my home and my family, I want the viewer to easily be able to move the image to their own reality.

S

omewhere here, when my two years on the master’s program started to come to an end, I reflected on how they have affected me. I began to realize that I might not leave my former profession and heritage in the way I first thought.

Instead, I see myself as someone who stands with one foot in each world and, rather than trying to escape from my heritage, I try to embrace it and combine my two worlds.

Image 19. Heated plastic, Eva Skärlund, 2020

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T

o conclude this paper I will summari- ze my project and reconnect my new knowledge to my initial research question. The main focus of this exam project has been to investigate how I can communicate my concerns about the climate crisis and environmental issues through my practice. My research question was formulated as: How

can I discuss and raise awareness of sustainability and environmental issues with my jewellery?

M

y study shows that jewellery

has served as a means of communication since the beginning of civilization (Pontoppidan 2019: 11-12). The survey also shows that the brooch, specifically, has been used to convey different views (Guyatt 2010: 34-39, Derrez 2019: 21-23, Albright 2009: 17-20). In my own work I have followed this path with my brooches. Based on my family’s everyday life and my background as a goldsmith, I develop jewelry that should not only be aesthetically pleasing, but which I hope will also carry a message and act as a conversation starter or communicator. For

me it has become clear that by choosing a re-debated material, plastic, and tur- ning it into jewelry, I, a potential buyer or a future wearer of the jewellery, will have the opportunity to discuss the issue of plastic.

T

he paper has also examined in what way I can use the image as a method of communication in my work.

By using pictures, I have reinforced the message of the jewellery I made. I have also made a connection forward in time by using children and young people in the pictures. As Sandahl (2016:226) writes, art can make us perceive time in a different way, which can facilitate the understanding of complicated time concepts. She cites climate change as an example of an event that is difficult to create a realistic view of. During my work I have come to see the photo, not only the jewellery, as the result in this project.

F

inally, the choice to use my own family in the pictures was a way to make a

stronger connection to both my own and others’ everyday lives and to relate the work to my own starting point, my concern about what world my children will face.

W

hile working on the degree project, I have had many ideas. Some of them I have rejected, but others I have saved in my mind for later developme- nt. I think it is fascinating to link my practical work to research and this is a method I am interested in evolving. Both because it’s feeding my practice and I learn a lot by taking part of research results, but also since I can, through my art, give the research an extended opportunity for understanding.

conclusion

”I have also made a connection forward in time by using children and young people in the

pictures.”

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finished work (this section is not completed yet!)

Image 20. The Heritage, Eva Skärlund, 2020 (Photo: Filip Leo) ’

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Image 21. The Heritage, Eva Skärlund, 2020 (Photo: Filip Leo) ’

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Image 2225. The Heritage, Eva Skärlund, 2020 (Photos: Filip Leo)

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Image 2629, The Heritage, Eva Skärlund, 2020 (Photos: Filip Leo)

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Image 3033. The Heritage, Eva Skärlund, 2020 (Photos: Filip Leo)

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Image 34. The Heritage, Eva Skärlund, 2020 (Photo: Filip Leo)

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thanks!

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references

Albright, Madeleine Korbel., Shocas, Elaine, Becker, Vivienne, Woodward, William & Dubler, Dianne. (2009). Read my pins: stories from a diplomat’s jewel box. New York: Harper

Asplund, Jan (2012) Agat, Kalcedon & Jaspis http://www.gemmologi.se/

om-%C3%A4delstenar,-guld-juveler/agat,-kalcedon,-jaspis-18931943 (accessed 191226)

Brooks, Amy L et al (2018) The Chinese import ban and its impact on global plastic waste trade, Science Advances, 20 June 2018: Vol 4, no. 6 https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/6/eaat0131.full (accessed 190213)

Davison, Nicola (2019) The Anthropocene epoch: have we entered a new phase of planetary history?, The Guardian, 30 May https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/30/anthropocene-epoch-have-we-entered-a-new-phase-of-planetary-history (accessed 191213)

Derrez, Paul & Nollert, Angelika (2019). Schmuckismus!. [München]: The De- sign Museum, Pinakothek der Moderne

Dictionary.com, LLC (2020) https://www.dictionary.com/browse/blackamoor (accessed 200106)

Eriksson, Yvonne & Göthlund, Anette (2012). Möten med bilder: att tolka visu- ella uttryck. 2., [rev.] uppl. Lund: Studentlitteratur

Fenn, Mark (2017). Narrative jewelry: tales from the toolbox. Atglen, PA: Schif- fer Publishing

Furness, Hannah & Holt, Bethan (2017) Princess Michael of Kent prompts controversy after wearing ’racist’ ’blackamoor’ brooch to lunch with Meghan Markle, The Telegraph, 22 Dec https://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/people/

princess-michael-kent-prompts-controversy-wearing-racist-blackamoor/ (accessed 2020-02-20)

Geyer, Roland et al (2017) Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made, Science Advances, 19 Jul 2017: Vol. 3, no. 7 https://advances.sciencemag.org/

content/3/7/e1700782 (accessed 190424)

Greenfield, Patrick (2017) Princess Michael of Kent apologises for ’racist jewellery’ worn at lunch with Meghan Markle, The Guardian, 22 Dec https://www.

theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/dec/22/princess-michael-apologises-wearing-racist-jewellery-meghan-markle-christmas-lunch (accessed 191128) Guyatt, Mary (2000) The Wedgewood Slave Medallion: Values in eigh- teen-century design in Lees-Maffei, Grace & Houze, Rebecca (red.) (2010). The design history reader. English ed. New York: Berg Publishers

Käll, Mattias (no date) Wrapped up https://mattiaskall.se/ (accessed 191107) Lindgren, Bengt & Nordström, Gert Z. (2009). Det kreativa ögat: om percep- tion, semiotik och bildspråk. 1. uppl. Lund: Studentlitteratur

Rose, Gillian (2016). Visual methodologies: an introduction to researching with visual materials. 4th edition London: Sage

Sandahl, Ann-Louise (2016). Temporalitet i visuell kultur: om samtidens heterokrona estetiker. Diss. Göteborg: Göteborgs universitet, 2016

Segal, Gregg (2018) 7 Days of Garbage https://www.greggsegal.com/P-Pro- jects/7-Days-of-Garbage/1/caption (accessed 191107)

Sopor.nu, Sveriges avfallsportal (no date) Statistik https://www.sopor.nu/fak- ta-om-sopor/statistik/ (accessed 200105)

Törnqvist, Johanna (no date) Precious Trash http://www.johannatornqvist.

com/collections/precious-trash/ (accessed 191107)

Wolf-Watz, Klas (2020) Vi använder mer och mer plast, Sveriges Radio, Publi- cerat onsdag 19 juni 2019 kl 17.04 https://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx-

?programid=4916&artikel=7246127 (accessed 200105)

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image references

Image 1. ’The Wedge wood Slave Medallion’, Sotheby’s, no date, http://

www.sothebys.com/fr/auctions/ecatalogue/2017/two-great-scottish-collections-l17317/lot.59.html (accessed 191226)

Image 2. Badges, Derrez, Paul & Nollert, Angelika (2019). Schmuckismus!.

[München]: The Design Museum, Pinakothek der Moderne

Image 3. Snake pin, Albright, Madeleine Korbel., Shocas, Elaine, Becker, Vi- vienne, Woodward, William & Dubler, Dianne. (2009). Read my pins: stories from a diplomat’s jewel box. New York: Harper

Image 4. Princess Michael of Kent wearing a Blackamoor brooch, Greenfield, Patrick (2017) Princess Michael of Kent apologises for ’racist jewellery’ worn at lunch with Meghan Markle, The Guardian, 22 Dec https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/dec/22/princess-michael-apologises-wearing-racist-jewellery-meghan-markle-christmas-lunch (accessed 191228)

Image 5. Part of ’Förpackad/Wrapped Up’, Käll, Mattias (no date) Wrapped up https://mattiaskall.se/ (accessed 191107)

Image 6. Part of ’Project Precious Trash’, Johanna Törnqvist, no date (Photo:

Fredrik Sederholm) http://www.johannatornqvist.com/collections/precious-trash/(accessed 191229)

Image 7. ’7 days of garbage’, Gregg Segal, 2018 https://www.greggsegal.com/

P-Projects/7-Days-of-Garbage/2/caption (accessed 200115)

Image 8. ’Choker’, Annelies Hofmeyr, no date http://www.witmyt.com/choker.html (accessed 200116)

Image 9. Fish brooches, Eva Skärlund, 2018

Image 10. Necklace, Eva Skärlund, 2019 (Photo: Filip Leo) Image 11. Necklace, Eva Skärlund, 2019 (Photo: Zandra Erikshed) Image 12-15. Folded and rolled plastic, Eva Skärlund, 2019

Image 16. Malachite, 2018 https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malakit (accessed 200215)

Image 17. Ironed plastic, Eva Skärlund, 2020

Image 18. Plastic brooches, Eva Skärlund, 2020 (Photo: Filip Leo) Image 19. Heated plastic, Eva Skärlund, 2020

Image 20-34. The Heritage, Eva Skärlund, 2020 (Photos: Filip Leo)

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appendices

1. Here some additional facts about plastic are presented. Geyer, Roland et al (2017) writes in the research article Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made how plastic since 1950 has infiltrated almost every aspect of human life. Plastic is a very

useful material and packaging is the big- gest sector with 40% of use. Plastic packaging allows companies to market them- selves, to design appealing- looking and feeling packages and the goods can also be more easily transported. However, plastic

packaging is often used only once and has contributed to 61% of global beach litter.

Only 9% of plastic waste has been recycled globally, which means an overwhelming amount of plastic ends up in landfills or in the natural environment.

2. Here is described in a more comprehen- sive way how a semiotic analysis is done and what it covers. Selected sections from Gert Z Nordströms (2009: 77), professor of visual pedagogy at HDK, University of Gothenburg, are presented, describing the semiotic analysis method. However, the workflow does not have to follow the order below.

1 Determination of analysis objects. Choo- se what to analyze.

2 Denotative description. The denotative preparation has two purposes; to start our vision so that we do not neglect any central part of the analysis object and to re- gister and demonstrate contexts and com- binations of characters that contribute to contexts, themes or possible discourses (Nordström 2009: 69).

3 Connotative description. The connotative part of the analysis involves identifying the added value of the analysis object, the

perceptions, norms and interconnections it gives rise to. This result is closely linked to culturally accepted perceptions and personal experiences (Eriksson and Göth- lund 2012: 44).

4 The impact of contexts. Nordström (2009: 74 - 76) believes that the decisive factor in how characters are interpreted is their context. The four main contexts are listed below.

• The first is transmitter context, that is, who or what is behind what is interpreted.

It can be the author, but also the client, employee or adviser.

• The inner context must be interconnec- ted with the external context and sometimes also with the transmitter and receiver context. The inner context is relative and is determined by the viewer or the analyst.

The context can encompass the whole work but also a small detail and contains what is contained in the angle of view be-

ing investigated.

• External context refers to the closest context of the analysis object. A distin- ction is made between permanent and temporary external context where the permanent refers to the place where the object is located, while the temporary refers to temporary events and events that surround the object and its location. Dif- ferent seasons are examples of influences that change the external context.

• With recipient context, refers to the situation in which the analysis object is received. Some images, in books for example, are experienced individually and result in a personal interpretation, while images in a movie, on television or in public places can be experienced in groups, together with others, which can lead to discussion, questioning and new knowledge.

5 Interpretation procedure. The analysis work itself.

3.According to the artist Gregg Segal the average American generates 29 pounds or 13 kilos of garbage a week. As a comparison to Swedish conditions the website

sopor.nu (no date), which is a collabora- tion between six different players in waste management in Sweden, states that 4,771,450 tonnes of household waste were

processed in Sweden during 2018, which corresponds to 466 kilos per person. By week, this means 9 kilos per person per week.

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reflections

F

or two years I have been working on my master project. I have experimen- ted, researched, developed, read, manufactured prototypes, had countless con- versations with my teachers and fellow students and finally produced what came to be my degree project. When it was time to report the result, the world did not look the same as before. In the beginning of 2020, the world was hit by a pandemic, the Corona virus. The new situation affects everyone, and, of course, our exami- nations from Konstfack. Nothing was as before. Regardless, with common forces, both the examination and an alternative exhibition were successfully completed.

T

he examination was held in a zoom webinar form, which suited me well, given the situation. Sure, I would rather have my opponent face to face, but I still do not think much was lost in the digital exam. I was quite nervous before it started, and I wish it could have been possible to record the conversation since I do not remember that much. Although my impression afterwards was that it was a good and interesting discussion. From my opponent, Jorunn Veiteberg, I was questioned for not using enough jewellery references in my work. I do not see my work as

’only’ jewellery. It is as well communicative images, with people wearing jewellery.

My references came from other artists also using pictures to communicate, building their work around their families, and they

were not necessarily jewellers. Jorunn Veiteberg recommended a book called

‘Sustainable jewellery’ by Julia Manheim.

This book focuses on how jewellery can be made of non-traditional recycled materials instead of traditional non-sustainable materials. This is of course very important but it´s not what my work is about. I´m not searching for new materials that are suitable for making jewellery. My project is instead about making our plastic waste visible. I think society needs other kinds of languages to talk about difficult and complicated issues. Text, numbers, and charts need company. I was asked, both by the opponent and by the audience, if I looked at my work as environmental friendly, or if I consider making jewellery out of plastic was a good way to take responsibility of the plastic pollution. Once again, my aim is to lift the environmental discussion about plastic, pay attention to the amount of plastic that we cannot opt out of and show how it affects me and people around me. I am an artist, not a recycling station.!

I felt misunderstood here, both by the opponent and by the audience. Maybe I need to consider the clarity of my work.

Perhaps the final communication may contain more images such as material and process images. I also need to think about what text is to be communicated for the work to be as clear as possible.

I

f the examination was okay, the exhibition, on the other hand, disappeared

completely for my part. Since I have several people close to me who are part of the public health authority’s designated risk groups, I chose to follow the restrictions they have recommended regarding travel.

So, I did not go to Stockholm to partici- pate in the degree exhibition. I built my own separate exhibition at home. It was held outdoors with friends and family and included opening, speech, bubbles, and flowers. That was nice. I filmed the show for the opponent but unfortunately, I mis- sed the participation in the movie that has rolled on Konstfack’s website. It is obviously boring, but at the same time, people are facing worse difficulties during these times.

F

inally, when I look at my master project, I find many layers and I can continue to work with it from a variety of perspectives. For example, I can go deeper into the geological processes that result in the new human made material plastig- lomerate or I can work from a feminist angle and focus on my choice as a woman to work at home, in the kitchen, with an iron as my main tool and what place that choice gives me in the artistic hierarchy.

To begin with, however, I will start by ex- amining what it is that drives us humans to buy all these things that eventually ends up in huge piles of garbage and why our desire for certain items makes us avoid the results of our actions.

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