As featured in Unfolded Magazine Issue 12
Contemporary jeweller Kelvin Birk revels in the chaos of
destruction, with Sapphires, Rubies, Emeralds and other precious
stones smashed and then reconstructed on precious metal surfaces.
His work is primarily conceptual, "working with the material and
letting it take shape," he says, in what could be described as
bringing the materials back to their true nature. From ancient to
more civilised times, precious and semi-precious stones have always
held our fascination, however, the finished work challenges our
perceptions of value commonly associated with jewellery.
Kelvin grew up in a family run hotel in a "small Bavarian village
in Germany, surrounded by green grass, meadows and mountains",
graduating in Goldsmithing from Staatliche Berufsfachschule für
Glas und Schmuck, followed, in 1994, with an MA in Silversmithing
at what was then London Guildhall. He has always had an interest in
jewellery and the arts, with his strengths lying in 3D and
sculpture, preferring a hands on approach and being sculpturally
creative. Exploring the spark for the chaos and reconstruction, we
find out "when you lose someone very precious, you are lost and
can't do anything to change the outcome. When I break a stone and
cast it into a piece of jewellery, something else happens or comes
out of the destruction."
Preferring experimentation over 2D drawing or sketches, he "allows
the material to dictate the flow," and is still fascinated by the
sight of liquidising gold or silver and then pouring it into a
mould. When visiting his workshop, we saw the use of coloured
enamel in a few pieces, where it is used in conjunction with stones
in a mould, creating interesting patterns.
The refashioning of precious stones and metals and even old pieces
of jewellery into distinctive new works is avant-garde. The
experimentation has led to more elaborate and larger pieces, made
out of crushed stones, one in the form of a crown, another in the
shape of an octopus, each made from 10000 or so crushed gemstone
parts on a silver frame. There are also milled freeform bangles and
necklaces, created from where a ring has been flattened and
elongated to create a new form. It is not a conventional approach,
but that is what makes his work unique.
www.kelvinbirk.com
Interview and portraits
Nardip Singh