Dong Wen

Human beings have an instinctual attraction to the power of fire. Like the ancient peoples worship of natural forces, I am attracted to all visual elements of fire. Fire represents movement, light, and power. My work is autobiographical and rooted in my experiences. I am particularly interested in storytelling through the creation of narrative works. I come from three generations of artists, and now as a student in the Tyler Metals/Jewelry/CAD-CAM program, I see my history reflected in the work I create. For example, after returning from an area hit by an earthquake, I made a brooch entitled Adoption because I was extremely move by the people who came to the region to adopt orphans. I created another work entitled Praying for Peace after a traumatic experience. I am devoted to expressing the notion that jewelry has the power to benefit or alert viewers.

My piece Screaming Underwater, is made from multiple layers of metal that attempt to show the depth and movement of water. I utilize resin and color to represent bubbles coming from the mouth of someone submerged under water. My motivation for making this piece is that I realize there are many people in society who want to shout out for something, but they believe that no one can hear them. I expressed this feeling through the situation of a person being in deep water and wanting to say serious things. The people on land are not able to hear them screaming, even when they are close to death. I see parallels to my work in the way that books have the ability to change a readers’ outlook and give them a new or deeper understanding of a topic. I believe that jewelry has the same power. I strive to make jewelry that is moving to my audience and that raises awareness of the topics I explore in my work.