Anli Hou

“Thanks to the popularity and growth of social media, people are fed with infidel online images among themselves, i.e, people register authentic profile and go online with it, but they are inclined to deviate from true selves during the process of revealing themselves. As a result, it becomes difficult to form real and intimate connections with another. Unable to distinguish reality from virtuality, people find it harder to withdraw from online world.

Therefore, I’d like appeal to people to have offline socialising through face-to- face interaction so as to build authenticity and mutual identification and break away from imprisonment of social media. People often feel apprehensive about 'offline socialising’, because they are stressed to find an icebreaker on occasion of one-on-one or multi-personal interaction.

To help them deal with such embarrassment, my work is to share the ‘offline visual ID’ by wearing jewellery. By means of visible artistic language, personal information is conveyed among people to find shared interests and topics, so they proactively make conscious and meaningful interaction. ”

—Anli Hou, 2022

Anli Hou is a Chinese jewellery designer. Her artworks include not only jewellery but also objects, painting, cinematography and cutlery. She likes to combine comprehensive materials with metals to explore the possibilities of both. Her work ‘Trace’ was awarded the second prize in The Second 3Design Contest 2018 of France. In 2021, she was the winner of The Contemporary Cutlers Design Competition and her works were permanently collected by Cutlers company. Since she studied at RCA in 2020, she has created five new collections of works ‘Trance’, ‘The sea-double tenderness’, 'Don’t miss the sunset', ‘Miss grandma in December’ and ‘If you live in the light, you feel the whole world is bright’.

For those looking for an exclusive design, Anli offers a bespoke service and works closely with clients to create something special.

Nowadays，people often feel apprehensive about ‘offline socialising’ because they are stressed to find an icebreaker on occasion of one-on-one or multi-personal interaction.To help them deal with such embarrassment，my work is to share the ‘offline visual ID’ by wearing jewellery. By means of visible artistic language, personal information is conveyed among people to find shared interests and topics, so they proactively make conscious and meaningful interaction.

Laura Migliorino said to our that the reason the art is necessary is that it is the art left behind in any society, this is the legacy of that society. It's really important for everybody to get out there and write our history. So as an artist, we have this gift and a responsibility to make the work that tells our story, our struggle, our failures, our achievements and to be honest and blunt.

We're storytellers and we have a particular skill set of creating visual art. I wrote five short stories about myself. These stories are: ‘Trance’, ‘The sea-double tenderness’, 'Don’t miss the sunset', ‘Miss grandma in December’ and ‘If you live in the light, you feel the whole world is bright’. It is also an important part of my ‘history’. I hope to make my own ‘offline visual ID’ through different patterns on the surface of my works to help me find and share topics in social occasions.

Candlestick – For me candles are a source of security and warmth. I light a candle almost every night and stare it. I feel its light perfectly surrounds me, and I get a sense of belonging.

Candlestick – The candlelight will create dazzling effects, and produce vivid colours. The visual and atmospheric effects will function to elevate and soothe the emotional state of those who experience it.

Trance

Brooch – The trance state patterns are printed on the surface of the brooch with laser printing.

Brooch

Medium:

silver/pearls/holographic plastic/candle

Miss grandma – This is a poem I wrote in memory of my grandmother.

Earmuff – I use the wool as a special connection between me and grandma. My grandma liked knitting sweaters, many things she gave me are made of wool. Gradually, I have a different feeling for wool. Whenever I touch it, I feel that grandma's love is wrapping me.