moving on collective @ Milan Design Week

A little while ago I supported the kickstarter campaign to get Moving On Collective to the Milan Design Week. They made their fundraising target and I’ve only just remembered to check their site to see what they got up to.

Their happening was titled ‘Ceci n’est pas un bijou‘ … ‘This is not a jewel’.

Event media: “When form follows FUNCTION, there is no argument in the design of the object. But what if the function of the object is ambiguous? And what if the signal it wants to send is absorbed into its esthetics?

These are not just pieces of adornment.
Nor can they be considered fine art pieces.
Instead they are fluctuating between art and design.

Contemporary jewellery and objects are so concentrated with narrative qualities that the functionality of the pieces is often ambiguous and considered unimportant.

When is an object functional?

Objects of personal value represent our sense of self, how we think, who we are, how we want to be perceived and finally how others perceive us.

Art jewellery stretches beyond logic, beyond utility and beyond materiality.

Moving On challenges the traditional definitions of adornment by pushing its functionality, context, wearability, materiality and presentation.”

Their display construct was a giant cardboard chain, on which their jewels were displayed. Fantastic.

installation image; used with explicit permission from Moving On Collective

Without seeing it in person, it’s hard to talk much more about it – but I really wanted to share with you that the jewellery community is a strong one and that amazing things can happen with the support of others.

I look forward to seeing what they’re up to next.