The Jewelry Hunting project is based on the idea of 'accidental beauty', a form of prosaic jewelry stemming from aspects of daily life.
Such 'accidental beauty' can be found unexpectedly from our surrounding environment: it can be iridescence, fragmented and dispersed from a crystalline glass onto the floor, a warped mirrored light shining through a glass window, or the stark contrast of inky black silhouettes against a brilliant orange glow. Possessing neither body or weight, light illuminates and casts itself onto our surroundings. It can be broken down and abstracted into qualities beyond merely making our world visible; it marries everything in its path, constantly shifting in character and prominence.
One may occasionally have chance encounters with light of such intense beauty that it stops us in our tracks. Bathed in its radiance, one recognizes a serene, almost spiritual elevation in the fleeting moment of wearing this 'accidental beauty'.
Jewelry renders the wearer more interesting, fascinating; that is ultimately its function. However, it can also be argued that this feeling of 'spiritual elevation' derived from wearing jewelry is itself the force that makes the wearer 'fascinating'. Jewelry is normally coveted because of the rare, precious materials (e.g. gold, platinum, silver, diamond, gems) it uses, making them commercially valuable. Its worth is further heightened by the time, skill and processes needed to make the final product as well as the particular big-name brand it may belong to. Owning and donning jewelry of this caliber gives rise to a feeling of confidence, which elevates the spirit and affects the wearer's overall posture and physicality.
As such, light that shines onto a human body could therefore also function as jewelry.
Jewelry Hunting presents 'accidental beauty' from the perspective of a hunter who has been documenting the numerous incidents since 2006. If you follow the carefully recorded information, including the date, position (sometimes even the exact address), time and weather, the viewer can visit the locations him/herself and, with some luck, get to experience the jewelry first-hand. S/He will experience the joys and 'spiritual elevation' as the hunter has done and hopefully learn to find similar instances of beauty in daily life.
Year of project start: 2006
