I find ethical dilemmas interesting as well since to me its the moral part the one that enters the gray area the most. Our shades are seen through our emotions, our emotions depends on our acts, which are determined by our moral (right vs wrong) I feel like when you enter a gray area your are like a soldier entering a war, a war of emotions, dilemmas, moral values, courage, pain, pleasures, and all these ingredients and many more are forming a soldier stronger than before. Or a SOULDIER as I like to think about it , which fights for your soul feeding it and letting it grow.
I think material definitely constitute a lot of value to a piece, speaking out to the public. As you mention the ethical problem with gold, I often think about how nature is been abused everyday. But we can do something about, let our jewelry speak. Recycling/found materials interest me a lot, they already have a history, a function, they belonged somewhere or to someone, so there is a story behind them, that tells about a culture. So is the perspective in which you see the material, an angle that can be framed by you, a shade of yourself in a new culture. The idea of using existing things to create something new, out of the ordinary fascinates me.
Regarding wearability, I believe the reason why people like to wear jewelry is to get some kind of benefit. Either is attention, admiration, honor , status, beauty, pleasure, distinction, interaction. The more benefits it gives the wearer the more they will like to wear it. How many benefits can a problem bring?
For example, taking my previous example of my souldier. What if we consider jewelry like medals, or con-decoration. Jewelry can be use as a victory, problems are solved and once you solve it you get recognition, giving self motivation, admiration and self- satisfaction. Now you could even help others.
Auli you have very interesting ideas, I’ll love to see some of your work do you have a website? Hope everything is good in that side of the world, greetings from here. You can check my work at www.mariajosefabrega.com.
