Playful jewellery for the inner world

Weimin’s graduation work, ‘Playful jewellery for the inner world’, a series of wearable jewellery pieces derived from Weimin’s long-standing interest in healing. These pieces invite the wearer to move the body by way of their playful nature, which is ever enhanced by wearing and moving itself. The ensuing bodily movements are based on Weimin’s research into the ‘body awareness therapy’ that aims at healing one’s inner world through an increased awareness of the physical body. For Weimin Zhu, the playful ‘purpose’ of her design is achieved when the wearer gains a greater understanding of their body and thus develops a better relationship with themselves.

‘Wearing these rings, I unconsciously exercise the muscles in my hand; wearing this breathing necklace, I take better, deeper breaths; wearing this pin keeps my shoulders open and brings my body into a more confident position...’

Weimin realizes that jewellery can be a special bridge between our physical bodies and our mental selves. Drawing on her long-standing interest in healing, her graduation work, Playful jewellery for the inner world, is a series of wearable jewellery pieces that encourage the wearer to move their body by inviting them to play. The movements prompted by these pieces have been selected based on research into body awareness therapy, which aims to heal one's ‘inner world’ by strengthening their awareness of their physical body. There are two main aspects to these pieces: on the one hand, their wearability, and on the other, their playful ‘purpose’.

‘I want the wearer to gain a greater understanding of their body while wearing these pieces, and to develop a better relationship with themselves,’ says Weimin.