Drumroll for the exclusive Star-Ring statement necklace created for UNITY together with its related limited edition jewellery collection!
Essemgé has been selected to take part in UNITY, a fabulous Eurovision-themed exhibition curated by the Bluecoat Display Centre in collaboration with the Association for Contemporary Jewellery!
The past couple of months have been a roller coaster of emotions but the exhibition is now officially open. It celebrates The Eurovision Song Contest hosted in Liverpool this May and responds to the global contest’s themes of music, unity, acceptance, and diversity.
As soon as I saw the open call I knew I had to apply! And so I did. The selection criteria asked for a statement piece inspired by the Eurovision themes plus a collection of wearable everyday pieces. A selection of those pieces is now available through the gallery’s online shop. Drawings were accepted as part of the submission but if selected they would have to be made into actual physical pieces.
Both the theme and the fact that I could submit sketches were what instinctively attracted me. It gave me the ideal platform to unleash my creativity and think big. It was going to be fun, joyous and totally new.
Inspiration behind the new star collection
I started researching the theme doing quick sketches as I went along. Eventually the 2 main elements that I focused on were
- A three-quarter view of a heart, in reference to the logo for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Visualise a number of hearts of different sizes stacked freely together to recreate that music rythm and beat. They are now viewed from the front but slightly sideways to better show that contraction / decompression movement
- and a 3D 5-pointed star, similar to those on the EU flag as it started as a European music event before going more global.
Based on those 2 strong and distinctive shapes, I then went on to design an exclusive statement piece, Star-Ring, and the related collection. Colour-wise I have used blue and yellow on the show-stopper piece in support to the Ukraine, an extra nod to weave UNITY throughout each piece of the collection.
More on the exclusive star jewellery to follow
in future blogs, including Behind the scenes of the exclusive Star-Ring statement necklace . I will reveal more about Star-Ring itself and the related collection, the making and challenges. I will take you behind the scenes as if you were sitting with me at the bench. You will get a glimpse of the life of an artist and a maker, and you will love it!
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