Houston-based jewelry artist Bryan Parnham uses metal as a graphic medium. In his new body of work, he uses photo etching and the tromp l’oeil technique. He references French literary theorist Roland Barthes’s interpretation of a photograph, which incorporates both the intention of the photographer to convey information and the unintentional detail that connects the viewer to the image. Parnham separates these elements, presenting only a small detail, in the form of a piece of jewelry, without the larger context of a photograph. Once the piece is worn, the context becomes the wearer.
