Ariel Jingyan Zhu
Ariel Jingyan Zhu is a contemporary jewellery artist with five years of experience. After completing her undergraduate studies in Beijing, she is currently pursuing her MA at the Royal College of Art in London. Her practice is grounded in observations of everyday details, combining material sensitivity with research into social behaviours. Working primarily through jewellery, she explores personal and poetic narratives embedded in objects. Her recent project Pearl in the Wall investigates the delicate relationship between domestic space and memory, through a series of wearable and spatial pieces. Ariel’s work is rooted in slowness, craftsmanship, and the quiet presence of overlooked traces.
This project began with a small, personal moment. After moving to London, I accidentally scratched a rental wall while carrying my luggage. Repainting it, I noticed dust and marks left by former tenants—imperfections sealed beneath layers of paint. Covering them again and again, I thought of how oysters form pearls—not by intention, but as a response to intrusion. Likewise, I wasn’t trying to make anything precious, yet something pearl-like emerged from the damage—soft evidence of presence.
In London, a city shaped by constant movement, tenants come and go, each repainting the walls before they leave. The walls, like shells, grow layer by layer, recording the traces of those who once lived there. So I created a silver chain, placed it against the wall, and mimicked the act of repainting—brushing over it to form the shape of pearls, as if it were a quiet memorial to the many temporary tenants who came and went.
Project Gallery
