The rapid development of urbanisation has brought people further and further apart, with walls of steel and concrete acting as an invisible pressure to prevent communication between people. Indeed urbanisation is recognised as one of the major factors contributing to the increase of loneliness (Tian, 2010). Kayan To has created a series of works to bring people closer together through the sharing of weight, and in doing so reduce the wearer’s sense of isolation.
The collection is inspired by the city and plants. In a highly urbanised city, the amount of greenery is one of the factors that affects the loneliness of its inhabitants, but ultimately, the direct way to cure loneliness is to spend time with someone (Chen and Gong, 2022). To’s work questions the possibility of a connection between the wearer through jewellery and whether the wearer can perceive a change in emotion through jewellery. She says: “As an object that creates a connection with the body, I see jewellery as having human emotions and being able to serve people.”