The second Graduation show of MASieraad Hasselt-Asmterdam 2024
Warm congratulations to the second cohort of MASieraad Hasselt-Amsterdam students: Jeannette Knigge, Diana Kirdeeva, Jiawei Xu, Yili Zhao, Mengying Sun.
This group of 5 talented students from all corners of the world presented their graduation work in a superb exhibition at SITE Nord in Amsterdam.
JEANNETTE KNIGGE, PERFORMING IDENTITY
Jewellery is a way to show your identity. You adapt to the social needs of your environment. With my background as a goldsmith, I'm redefining my identity in contemporary jewellery, using my technical skills and the urge to make art.
My pieces raise questions about our social behaviour and people's expectations of themselves and others.
info@kunstgoud.nl – @kunstgoud
DIANA KIRDEEVA, FORCED BELONGINGS
Is it possible to detach and separate oneself from things that in fact made you who you are? With this and more questions in the back of my mind I started a journey of looking for a new form of existence. Cut-off fingers became my medium - metaphorical and literal transformation process of detaching from the place of origin and finding a new configuration.
kirdeevadiana@gmail.com – @things.by.dk
JIAWEI XU, HOPE IN HOPLESSNESS
My work starts from my own childhood, a great discomfort when I was on the beach, the spikiness of sand disturbing my skin, almost similar to my skin color, sand gives me a great feeling of insecurity by feeling lost and scared. Haunted by the feeling sand gave me, later I revealed the feeling is psychologically named ‘learned helplessness’. During my struggle, art was my only connection with the true world. Pulling me out again and again from my own cage of mind, art constantly brought me back to the present, patiently companied me for over two decades. Gradually, art led me to the beginning where my dolorous thought was bred, a vulnerable kid who thought she was being abandoned when she was one year old. In this work, I choose to use performance by revive my scene of pain, to give myself a second chance to see the truth of me and my surrounding.
xjw99@icloud.com – @jiawei_xu99
YILI ZHAO, DUST - MEMORY CONTAINER
Every moment is dying, and the dust will carry the memories. Dust can be seen as a witness to time. In my work I explore the possibilities of dust, a seemingly insignificant material, as an art material. Regardless of the type of dust collected, it is a medium for capturing the ephemeral and timeless aspects of life. With the help of a handheld vacuum cleaner and specially designed filters with symbols I collect dust, that can represent moments that have a special importance.
zhaoyilir@163.com – @_zhaoyili_
MENGYING SUN, BORN TO LOVE, BORN TO DIE
As humans, we crave for love and fear death. What we truly possess is the present, which is being stolen from us in this era of digital information. Jewellery serves to carry the metaphysical spiritual world of individuals or collectives. In my work I reflect on traditional and historical Chinese wedding and funeral jewellery, using combinations of wood or 3d printed nylon with silicon wafer chips.
pusuzhubao@163.com – @mengyingsuen
MASieraad is taking a new direction
In 2024, after having delivered 2 cohorts of talented international Master students at PXL-MAD in Hasselt, and 1 cohort at the Sandberg Instituut in Amsterdam, MASieraad will make a re-start based on the commitment of people involved, alumni, teachers, the board of the foundation, and others. The multi-layered history of our teaching, and the individuality of the artists and others connected with MASieraad is our base.
We don’t call it a collective, nor a community, or a platform, but we like to see it as a conceptual model, a vehicle that is moving forward, in which people can join, and which is open to initiatives and fresh ideas. The coexistence of multiple visions is central. We cherish the wish to express ourselves in jewellery or otherwise in connection with people, and drawing on our social, political and spiritual consciousness.
MASieraad aims to promote contemporary jewellery in a broad sense. We build upon the power of Dutch jewellery design and strongly believe in the innovative power of our alumni and of (jewellery) design. We can start sowing again in the plowed land that has now been created.
We envisage a flexible, nomadic future instead of depending on a fixed base. As of June 2024, when our last students have graduated, MASieraad will continue as an independent entity, aimed at promoting the education in jewellery by offering collaborations with different Dutch and international MA programs in various ways; post-graduate education and residencies are among our goals.
At the same time different types of education will be offered to open the secluded jewellery niche, to inspire and stimulate interest.
We continue with our alumni who will help shape new ideas and initiatives. They have a closer contact to the field and know what is urgent, while the senior MASieraad people, board and teachers, can offer their experience, knowledge and network. We are happy to welcome Chequita Nahar as a new member on our board.
It is a work in progress.
Please join us on our journey. You can find us on Instagram.
MASieraad 21-02-2024