Revealing (2021)

An onion is constructed from a range of layers to make a whole. The skin acting as a shield - which prevents the onion’s ‘flesh’ from being oxidized. The outer layer protects and hides the inner one from being exposed and becoming rotten. Inspired by the onion’s natural architecture, this project tells a story about layers of hidden truths. The discarded onion skins dissipate into a translucent material that is both biodegradable, durable, and lightweight. Seen at first as a benign and forgotten resource, I hope within my practice and throughout this process of discovery to question pre-existing concepts of luxury. My references stem from classical jewelry styles, commercially defined patterns, and materials in an exaggerated fashion. Using the veneer of the skins, whilst reconstituting their own natural color and qualities, the process amorphously centers around transformation. A food industry waste product, transformed into alluring jewellery. Each piece in this series, gradually aims to represent the layers all the way to the core, slowly revealing a central truth: At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how much effort I put in, the onion stays an onion and will never become a pearl. But, isn’t that just a matter of perception, after all what’s so bad about being an onion? Materials used: Onion skins waste, PVA eco glue, natural Osmo oil-wax-based finish, recycled yellow and white metals.