Huizi Qu

Huizi Qu is a Chinese jeweler and metalworker. She graduated from Birmingham City University, Jewellery and Related Products, in 2018, and then came to the Jewellery and Metal programme at the Royal College of Art for a new experience. Her practice is concerned with the relationship between individual emotion and contemporary jewellery, discussing how jewellery narrates the story beyond the jewellery itself. She tries to engage with more interdisciplinary forms to challenge and expand the boundaries of narrative.

In 2021, Huizi Qu launched her own jewellery brand Purkinje Hermit London.

Huizi’s project is concerned with the sense of fear, which comes from her own obsession with fear; she wants to create jewellery that can convey emotions and generate power so that viewers and wearers will naturally generate their own emotions during the wearing process, which is not limited to the sense of fear, but offers something to overcome it.

Huizi was immersed in a deep sense of fear when she made each piece of jewellery: she took her personal experience as the original story and projected it onto the concept of jewellery. She divided the fear into external fear and internal fear and made these into the jewellery prototypes, and then narrated two stories based on the these prototypes.

The inspiration for the two stories comes from two specific manifestations of her obsession with fear. One is her obsession with horror movies, and the other is her obsession with Tarot cards. From her perspective, the horror movie obsession is the projection of fear from past experience, while the Tarot card obsession is the projection of fear looking into the future.

She designed the Mirror of Fear Tarot based on the jewellery prototype, which is inspired by her individual experience of fear. There are 32 cards in total, including 8 External Cards, 8 Internal Cards, 8 Mirror External Cards, and 8 Mirror Internal Cards. Drawing cards and accumulating calculations can reflect and predict the questioner's current and future state.

In terms of technology, she chose wax engraving: she feels that hand engraving in the making process can bring more power and convey a richer feeling.

Earring collection relating to the external fear —

Earring collection relating to the external fear — External fear is the first step in exploring one's own fear. When the fear is exposed to the external environment, it spontaneously extends tentacles to explore the external environment and resist potential dangers. These tentacles wrap around the ear to whisper ‘danger’.

Ring collection relating to internal fear — Internal fear is about reconciliation and concealment in the acquisition of known forms of fear. Faces are like faded shells, listening to the inner voice with ears attached to each face.

The Mirror of Fear Tarot

External Card 6th & Internal Card 3rd — External Cards describe the drawer’s state and behavior and refer to Rider Waite tarot. Internal Cards define the drawer’s role and awakening, referring to the Little Prince Tarot and the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible. Mirror Cards predict the direction and give suggestions, which has the mirror images of the External Cards and Internal Cards and are like looking in the mirror. They can be the extension or a complete reflection of the basic card, depending on the forward or reverse position.

Healing card 3rd & 5th — The healing card heals with the help of paintings and mirror images, based on the jewellery prototype.

Healing card book

Game Design Narration / Storytelling Tarot cards

Observation - Obsession - Reflection — This is the deep extension of Huizi’s internal fear, showing the three changing stages of how she deals with fear: Observation - Obsession - Reflection. The red candlesticks represent temptation after being observed, the head sculpture I hug represents a stage of obsession, the blown-out candle represents the end of obsession, and the silver separable sculpture represents the separation between fear after the experience of reflection.

The fear I hug

The fear house I built

3D Printing Observation Obsession Performance Reflection Sculpture Selfportrait

The demand for colorful fear & The self-portrait sculpture of fear — This is an experimental work that explores the regular color dynamics of the temperature changes of fear when it is observed at different stages.

The color of fear

Colour Experimental Sculpture

Mathematical forms from The Science of Representation — Flower Arrangement of Consciousness Evolution is the work Huizi carried out at the RCA last year, inspired by the nineteenth-century book The Science of Representation, by psychologist Benjamin Betts. Betts attempted to represent the successive stages of evolution by means of symbolic mathematical forms.

Collection of same developing stage — All works' size is range from 30cm x 30cm x 30cm.

Collection of different developing stages — She developed from his theory, establishing a new mathematical model to describe her ideal form to describe the consciousness evolution by enameling and photo etching in the technological approach. As the original forms that Betts uses are flower patterns, Huizi used the form of flower arrangement to display her work. All works' size is range from 30cm x 30cm x 30cm.

Consciousness Enameling Mathematical

Webinar

Hands scooping liquid out of a gold dish

LIMINAL JAM — Jewellery and Metal Wednesday 30 June 09:00 (GMT +0)

Materiality and AbstractionApplied arts

Huizi Qu

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Royal College of Art