Wanshu Li
United Kingdom
www.liwanshu.co
She is currently based in Edinburgh UK. She trained Jewellery and Silversmithing at the Beijing University of Technology and Edinburgh College of Art. Her jewelry is about exploring light, sound, tactility and movement of ultraviolet light plastic elements combined together.
- When did you start dedicating yourself to the world of contemporary jewelry?
Being an artist or working related to art field is always my biggest dream and luckily I found that I have a great interest in making art jewellery or 3D object. So after I finished my study at Edinburgh College of Art, I decided to become a self-employed jeweller and consider this as a life-time career that I would pursue.
- What do you take inspiration from when you start creating a new collection?
In general, there are so many perspectives that I will consider or inspire me before I make a new collection. So it is very difficult to say what or where do I take inspiration from. I’ve been focusing on developing the same concept in my work which is about exploring multi-sensory experiences in jewellery which includes sensory perception such tactility, visual enjoyment and sound. Normally I explore my work based on this concept, then I will start to collect image materials and directly experimenting with different materials.
- What kind of work or material do you prefer?
I am now working with a quite range of materials such as silver, acrylic, glass beads, nylon wires and painting and most of them are non-precious materials. I think at this moment I am quite enjoying working with innovated materials or create my own combinations of materials. I found it for me could be the most attractive part in making jewellery and it also help me to find my unique “language” that presents my work.
- What are your points of reference in the world of contemporary jewelry and art?
I think for jeweller who just entered this field, before finding their own “languages” which could be freely and fully used in their work, they would need to spend some time not only on learning jewellery knowledge and gaining techniques, but also learning design methods or thinking through other people’s work. For me, the most important part of referencing other people’s work is it can inspire me to discover more possibilities and inspirations and help me extend my own jewellery creations.
- Three words with which you would describe the Artistar Jewels project.
Fashion-forward, emerging, inspiring
- What do you think of the jewels that were on show this year? Have you been fascinated by any particular creation?
It was the first time that I participated Artistar Jewels and I was very curious about other artists’ work. I think it is really difficult to say which is my favourite work because every artist used his or her unique languages to express their different understands towards contemporary jewellery. For me, the most important thing of being part of this exhibition is to enjoy and discover the stories behind every artist’s work and to learn more about their creative thinking and different techniques.
- Would you recommend to other artists to take part in Artistar Jewels?
I will definitely recommend other artists to participate in Artistar Jewels as I think it is such a great opportunity to exposure their works and building connections with galleries and other events.
- What were the services / opportunities that most pushed you to participate in the event?
As it was the first time to exhibit my work in Italy and I am very happy that I chose Artistar Jewels to work with. I think the most important reason to push me to be part of it is because it provided me a opportunity to reach the audience not only from Italy but also people from all over the world.
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