Floere Astrid Braet
©2024
“The Pearl”
2024Jewelry is deeply tied to stories, romance, and sentiment. Whether a wedding ring or a treasured heirloom, we value these items greatly. Through my work, I challenge this romanticism and expose its contradictions, revealing how the origins of precious materials often clash with our idealized perceptions.
The mining of metals, gemstone extraction, and pearl farming have serious social and environmental impacts. In my piece “The Pearl,” I created a paper necklace using every mention of the word 'pearl' from Steinbeck’s novella, showing how context is stripped away and romanticized. Inspired by the fantasy surrounding pearls, I question these narratives and highlight the reality of production.
Jewelry is deeply tied to stories, romance, and sentiment. Whether a wedding ring or a treasured heirloom, we value these items greatly. Through my work, I challenge this romanticism and expose its contradictions, revealing how the origins of precious materials often clash with our idealized perceptions.
The mining of metals, gemstone extraction, and pearl farming have serious social and environmental impacts. In my piece “The Pearl,” I created a paper necklace using every mention of the word 'pearl' from Steinbeck’s novella, showing how context is stripped away and romanticized. Inspired by the fantasy surrounding pearls, I question these narratives and highlight the reality of production.
I also explore ethical approaches to jewelry by working with oyster shells found on the beach. Their natural luster offers an alternative to pearls and evokes the romance of a seaside souvenir, without the environmental toll of pearl farming. I tried keeping the archetypical form of a pearl necklace by using circular cutouts as a reference. With this work, I uncover the stories behind materials, exposing the contrast between our cherished items and their real costs.
The piece is unfinished, as it is an experiment and the closing system is temporary as its not ethically resourced silver.