Yichen Zhao Ivan (London Craft Week 2025)
A playful cultural translation, where jade reimagines everyday forms into contemporary amulets, bridging tradition and global understanding through humour, symbolism, and shared meaning.
"A Traditional Telephone"
A phone made of jade. When a phone is given different cultural attributes, does it have other identities? A phone made of jade. When a phone is given different cultural attributes, does it have other identities?
For people who don't know about jadeite culture, the jade Ruyi is shaped like a telephone. Jade is a material full of Chinese elements, and I hope to promote Chinese culture as home through a humorous approach. The design of the jade Ruyi is combined with a pre-existing telephone to discuss more possibilities for jadeite and jewellery.
The value of culture is not innate, but is based on understanding. For people who do not understand a culture, its symbols, forms and even rituals may be meaningless.
A typical example is the traditional jade peace button – although many people wear it, they often do not know why it is shaped like this or what it actually represents. Therefore, I will combine the design of the peace button with tyre objects to use the common language of the world to spread the culture of Chinese jade.
How do we define the traditional Chinese safety amulet? Can this culture exist and be shared in more contexts, so that more people can feel ‘safe’?
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