Liu Qiwei_Lithos Offering Fengshi 01
Category: Brooch
Material: silver, bone enamel, 24K gold foil, Efcolor low temperature enamel
Process: bone enamel firing process, welding, gold process
Liu Qiwei_Lithos Offering Fengshi 02
Category: Brooch
Material: silver, bone enamel, 24K gold foil, Efcolor low temperature enamel
Process: bone enamel firing process, welding, gold process
Liu Qiwei_Lithos Offering Bong Shi 03
Category: Brooch
Material: silver, bone enamel, 24K gold foil, Efcolor low temperature enamel
Process: bone enamel firing process, welding, gold process
Liu Qiwei_Lithos Offering Bong Shi 04
Category: Brooch
Material: silver, bone enamel, 24K gold foil, Efcolor low temperature enamel
Process: bone enamel firing process, welding, gold process
Liu Qiwei_Lithos Offering Fengshi 05
Category: Candlestick
Material: silver, bone enamel, 24K gold foil, Efcolor low temperature enamel
Process: bone enamel firing process, welding, gold process
Fengshi Detailed Works Scheme
Including sources of inspiration and details of bone enamel process development
Bong Stone
Work production process
The project draws inspiration from ancient stone mounds that symbolize the carriers of memory. Throughout the history of human civilization, we mourn the dead by building stone graves, writing poems, offering sacrifices and other rituals, but these acts are always accompanied by the self-exhibition of the living-reflecting the moral posture of the living, rather than a real dialogue with the dead. This kind of ritual with a sense of fragmentation, which is becoming more and more prominent in our current era, constitutes the spiritual core of this series of creations. Through enamel and metal craft, I intervene in the chaotic narrative of conflict, disaster and rebirth, deconstruct the symbolic system of death, rebirth and memory, and capture the spiritual echo of their continuous collision in contemporary society.
In this creative practice, ashes and enamel glaze sublimate each other in the fire-the process of material transmutation is transformed into a ritual of reshaping emotional structures and cultural symbols. The act of making itself is like a contemporary interpretation of an ancient ritual, where the end of life forms is transformed into the beginning of material rebirth. Carrying the dual weight of the original sense of ritual and memory connection. Through the artistic translation of the life cycle, the traditional enamel craft is endowed with a new narrative dimension in the contemporary context. This is not only the final chapter of material existence, but also the prelude to spiritual permanence.
At the cultural level, the creative inspiration of this practice comes from the traditional Chinese sacrificial culture, and we think critically about it. The "cupcake" shape of jewelry works comes from the tribute in our traditional sacrificial ceremony. In addition, through the ritual of thinking, "incense insertion" artifacts are also created for this series of works.
In terms of narrative, the result of this creation is not only the final object, but also the process itself is part of the expression. The Chinese emphasize "learning from things". In this context, the creation of this practice, especially the firing of "bone enamel", is a kind of "process knowledge" and a narrative of pursuing "Tao" in action. This kind of narrative has an inseparable relationship with the education I received in China.
Liu Qiwei is a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh School of Art. He is the gold medal winner of the Goldsmith Craft & Design Council Award in 2018, the global artistic talent winner in 2020 (T1 Global Talent Visa) in 2020, the nomination of Enjoia't Award in 2024 Barcelona International Jewelry Competition in Spain, and the winner of the 2024 China "Design Shanghai" Most Beautiful Jewelry Award in 2017. Member of British Scottish Craft Association, member of British Contemporary Jewelry Design Association, member of British Precious Collective Jewelry Association; participated in 1 national art fund project, 1 EU CraftHub project (international cooperation), and participated in more than 10 design exhibitions at home and abroad. The doctoral research design work "lifting heavy as light" is in the permanent collection of Durham Oriental Museum (2023) and was published on the cover of North American Goldsmian Association (SNAG) "Metalsmith" magazine (2024), etc.
