Sue-Yee Chimerum & Ian Henderson
Jewellery maker
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Biomimcry, empowerment and adornment
- Sue-Yee and Ian make jewellery from metal and synthetic rubber
- Each piece is designed with biomorphism in mind
- Ian directs the making process while Sue-Yee leads creative direction
Ian Henderson and Sue-Yee Leung's jewellery features an array of curving, light and dark spines that sit somewhere between an ocean anemone and a fossil. While visually delicate, they are crafted from pliable, industrial wire sheathing, a type of synthetic rubber. Together, Ian and Sue-Yee run their jewellery workshop, Zoa Chimerum, from their Brooklyn studio. Every piece begins with a forged aluminium skeleton, followed by its rubber skin, each component placed in response to the last. "Heat sets the curls into a balletic motion, contorting as if choreographed into nested Fibonacci spirals,” Ian says. Sue-Yee, shaped by years in fashion studio photography, dressing sets and detailing model lighting to the millimetre, handles creative direction. "Our ethos is that jewellery restores to humans the expressivity other animals carry in their spines and plumage," the duo explains.
INTERVIEW
Our name is inspired by the chimera, a hybrid creature from Greek mythology. Our pieces look organic, but they are made with rubber. They live on the body, but their material is intended for electrical cables. We enjoy the tension in these contradictions.
We begin by translating a gesture, taking to paper with ink and a brush, and translating that line into wire. The spines are added in an incremental process, like a timelapse of plant growth, ice forming and algae blooming. Once the second spine is on, the first cannot be changed unless we remove both. What brings the pieces to life is the heating process.
We hope people feel powerful and complete. Finding pieces that complement rather than complicate a person's style can be challenging. In our queer community, for whom self-presentation is a vital act of self-creation, we want to emphasise wearability. We stopped using clasps so that the jewellery can be worn without assistance. Power has to be practical.
Our jewellery takes on a life of its own once it finds its community. We never anticipated our patterns being tattooed across someone's back, or our tactile rubber spines being used as grounding tools for neurodiverse stimming. The results are beautiful, proving that our pieces develop their own unique personalities.
Sue-Yee Chimerum & Ian Henderson
Jewellery maker
Brooklyn, NY, USA
ADDRESS
Address upon request, Brooklyn, NY, USA
AVAILABILITY
By appointment only
LANGUAGES
English
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