Elena Ruebel's Page

I am interested in objects that have lost their purpose, which are fragments amputated of their function and become objects of aesthetic value. I enjoy the sense of questioning and mystery that surrounds them, the sense of slowness involved in figuring out what they might have been. The objects I create are in need of being defined. Concentrating on the initial contact a person has with them, I emphasise the tension in their passage from new to owned.

Once broken by their wearer, the rigid porcelain objects are allowed to unravel into fluid necklaces. Breaking becomes a physical confrontation, a firm recognition of the material reality of the objects, of their destiny and final shape.
The multiplicity contained in the transition from non-wearable to wearable object implies an irrevocable process of decision-making. The impossibility of having all options suggests incompleteness - committing to one solution means excluding all others forever…

This is not about versatility, it is not about surprise and nothing is hidden. Elements are presented to the eye, processes can be anticipated and finally the worn jewellery can be imagined reconstructed as the initial object. Usually broken objects are at the end of their life; in my work breaking is the beginning.