The jewellery designer using flowers to highlight gender equality in Thailand
Flowers are a recurring motif in Bangkok-based Thai jewellery designer Sarran Youkongdee's work.
"I get ideas from Thai flower craft. One of the garlands I like most is the 1 made with jasmine. Nosotros come across delicate flowers coming together to produce something that holds beautifully," he said, adding that his own home garden is filled with those very blooms.
"Information technology'due south a blossom I've been attached to since young, equally my female parent would gather them to make her own garlands. To me, it is representative of Thai women," he added.
The multi-talented Srinakharinwirot University fine-arts graduate began his career every bit a film-maker, then later, a domicile interior and lifestyle designer, gaining recognition and winning design awards for handmade furniture and dwelling-decor items fabricated from eco-friendly locally-grown materials such equally banana trees and bamboo matting.
"I told the story of a woman who visited the temple in the morning just was not allowed to enter some areas. The light from the temple cast shadows on her torso and arms, and because of that, she was able to participate through the shadows."
"My mother is my inspiration. She was a single parent, and she struggled for me and my siblings, whether it was getting a task or raising united states in an ever-irresolute society. I can still remember her sitting in the kitchen making bogus flowers, dolls and cakes (to sell). She did everything to raise u.s.," said the 36-year-one-time.
"The turning point was the question of how I can tell these stories. I decided to employ jewellery to effectively communicate and reach my desired group – women."
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Youkongdee established his jewellery brand Sarran in 2008. Inspired by Thailand's culture, history and its women, his designs feature native flowers and traditional handicraft, re-interpreted through contemporary materials.
A recent collection, Rattanakosin Shadow, features flowers and shapes inspired by temple compages, made of eco-friendly recycled paper. There are xiii pieces in all, including layered necklaces, earrings and bracelets resembling crown flowers, jasmine and chempaka.
"In this collection, I tell the story of gender equality. Women were unable to enter some places or work in certain jobs. I told the story of a woman who visited the temple in the morning but was not allowed to enter some areas. The light from the temple cast shadows on her torso and arms, and because of that, she was able to participate through the shadows," he explained.
"My mother is my inspiration. She was a single parent, and she struggled for me and my siblings... She did everything to heighten us."
The pieces are also infused with floral fragrances using an incense burner – in accord with an ancient Thai exercise. "I plant out that in the past, Thai women did not employ perfume. Instead, they infused their clothes with bloom-scented incense. Tin you lot believe that some fabrics in the museums still take this scent until this twenty-four hours, even though hundreds of years have passed?" he marvelled.
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In 2016, Vogue Thailand awarded him the "Who'south On Next" championship. Upmarket mode and lifestyle emporium Social club 21 has stocked his pieces since 2017. The Rattanakosin Shadow collection received recognition past the Tiffany & Co. Foundation, and some pieces are even on permanent exhibition in New York's Museum of Art and Blueprint.
"I feel what I make with my hands is the most important affair I can offer to my customers or to those who similar my work. They view my work every bit art, made past an artist and so there is no need for information technology to be worn according to the season or the trend. They wear the piece because they are proud of it and information technology shows their identity," Youkongdee said.
Adapted from the series Remarkable Living. Picket full episodes on CNA, every Sunday at 8.30pm, starting December one.
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/remarkableliving/thai-jewellery-designer-sarran-youkongdee-176796
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