“How can jewellery related objects be activated as critical artefacts in the discussion about aging?”

The world’s population is aging: virtually every country in the world is experiencing growth in the number and proportion of older persons in their population. Population aging is poised to become one of the most significant social transformations of the twenty-first century, with implications for nearly all sectors of society. Linxuan Yan has designed a range of jewellery to help people of different ages think about and rationally understand aging.

The jewellery represents different aspects of aging – the ‘frame’ element, internal aging, such as that affecting cells, liver tissue and blood vessels. The ‘soft part’ of the work represents thevisual external appearance of aging – age spots, wrinkles and fat accumulation. The picture in the frame has a causal relationship with the “soft part”, expressing the process of internal aging leading to external aging. The worn work aims to provide an experience, also enabling wearers and viewers to engage in discussion around aging and face up positively to the changes it will bring.