Korean jeweler Sowon Joo uses her craft to tell fairy tales for grown-ups, offering our dreary modern society a warmer and more meaningful atmosphere. Joo focuses her attentions on the rites of passage that all living creatures experience: birth, death, and the growth and development milestones that happen between them. She uses nature to describe these moments metaphorically; for her, the natural world is not something to enjoy and utilize, but something to learn about and respect. Through her works, Joo hopes to teach us that by observing nature’s order and harmony, we can find principles of living and balance within society. Her pieces are not meant to stand on their own; they only become complete artworks through harmony and balance with human bodies.
