BECOMING Eggplant purple / Gray

Sheepskin Leather, Sterling Silver (925)

18.5 x 1.5 cm (1.5 mm thick)
Approx. 5.30 g (2.65 g each)

What happens when people, bodies, materials, and things meet? An encounter sets something in motion. It leaves traces, creates tension, changes relationships. Not only what is already there is altered – the space between things changes too.
BECOMING begins with something flat: two pieces of leather in different colours, joined back to back. At first, there is only a surface. Then it moves, opening into space.
Leather responds to pull, twist, and tension. Its lightness and distinctive tactile quality make movement immediately perceptible. It can be turned, bent, and guided in different directions. From the flat surface, a form emerges – not as something predetermined, but through its interplay with the wearer.
The fastening holds the form at the ear and is integral to its construction. Open it, and the form can change. A different turn, a different path – and another shape emerges.
The contrasting colours of the two sides enhance the spatial effect. Depending on the turn and the angle of view, one colour or the other comes forward, giving the form a different appearance.
BECOMING approaches jewellery not as a fixed, finished form, but as something that emerges through encounter – between material, body, and movement. No form is final; each remains open to another.

Artist Bio:
Born in Germany, Nicole Deuster has lived and worked in Barcelona, Spain, since 1984. From 1984 to 1989, she studied jewellery at Escola Massana – School of Art and Design in Barcelona, graduating in 1989. During this period, she also studied Japanese lacquer techniques. She later continued her studies at Escola Massana in sculpture (modelling) and chasing and repoussé.
Since 2008, she has been a member of the contemporary jewellery collective Joyas Sensacionales.
For several years, leather has been the primary material in her work. She is interested in encounters and interactions, and in how they can bring about change and give rise to something unexpected.
Her work has been exhibited throughout Europe, Canada, and Israel and featured in international books and publications.