Exploring Material Manipulation

Capstone work by Alix Soule ’20 (Metals and Jewelry Design).

“This body of work explores the ownership and value change that occurs when an item is donated to a secondhand store,” Soule said. “When an item is purchased from a vintage store, it’s attached with a foreign meaning which buyers reshape, adding their own sense of value and intention to the item that is now theirs. Made from material almost entirely sourced from these stores, this collection transforms discarded objects, into intimate personal expressions that interact with the body. The items that were once recognizable have been changed, and their initial intent becomes less relevant as well as their social and economic value in the world. The work becomes an exploration of material manipulation; challenging jewelry in the traditional sense and investigates the avenues of wearable art, fashion and sculpture.”