A participatory project that unveiled various perspectives of relationships we build with each-other, through and with objects that surround us. 3 jewelry pieces wandered the world for 1 year, from host to host and explored connections: maker – wearer, past wearer – present wearer, object – person. The work itself was the journey of the pieces, changing context and environments, reflecting on host's personality, behaviors, routines.
Cross-border/international
North Macedonia
Latvia
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Spain
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Greece
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Germany
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Italy
Member State(s), Western Balkans and other countries: Other
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It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
2017-05-17
As an individual
First name: Mima Last name: Pejoska Gender: Female Nationality: orth Macedonia Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Bukureshka 113a Town: Skopje Postal code: 1000 Country: North Macedonia Direct Tel:+389 70 672 772 E-mail:mimapejoska@gmail.com Website:http://www.mima.com.mk
'The Stories of the Three Wanderers' was a social art participatory project meant to unveil various perspectives of relationships we build with each-other, through or with objects that surround us. It was constructed as a travel log of three jewelry pieces, that wandered the world for 1 year, from host to host, and collected experiences, stories and adventures. Regardless of our awareness, all things we interact with come with a previously embedded emotion or story, that affects our relationship with it. This log explored all of these connections: maker – wearer, past wearer – present wearer, object – person. The work itself was the journey of the pieces, changing context and environments, reflecting on host's personality, behaviors, routines. All of the experiences (documented with writings, photographs or videos that hosts shared) from each 'visit' were collected and regularly published online as a digital diary, presenting how each host adds value and meaning to these little works of art.
The strength of the project lies in its unique way of connecting people and creating meaningful relationships through these 3 little objects. The sense of Belonging is not always linked to a place as I see it - but rather to a community that shares the same values, ideas and creations. In this case, the Belonging is linked to an object that acts as a vessel.
With the Wanderers, people in Europe and in the world were able to be co-creators of beautiful stories together, witness how the relationships grow and unfold with each new visit to a 'host'. The true value of participatory projects comes from shifting our thought process and perception about our daily interactions through and with objects.
Relationships
Stories
Community
Experience
Participatory
The Stories of the three Wanderers as an art project was designed to tackle our imagination, perception and ways we value objects - and how we Connect through them. It opened up new discussions on the subject, and widen the field of practice/enjoyment in this particular region in relation to the world. It also created new connections among artists and craft-lovers around the world, strengthening the dialogue regardless of borders.
The travels of the three pieces inspired the participants and the audience to create and think about pieces that bring us closer together rather than solely existing as objects of our daily lives. What does it mean to hold or wear an Object that passed through the hands of 50+ people that year; how does our relationship with the object increase its value; and what does it mean for the future wearer. Do we value an object for its history, story it tells, who owned it and how they treated it? How do we handle something that is an heirloom piece 200 years old; something that comes from a country with rich history or something that was an integral part of someone's wedding ceremony?
Its impact goes deep in both Social and Human Sustainability. It directly addresses maintenance and improvement of social quality with concepts such as cohesion, reciprocity and honesty, as the importance of relationships amongst people. The base focus of this project is in its feature to create a shift of perception, open our Minds on daily habits, interactions and setting values.
Unlike most artworks that are made with the intention of being appreciated for what they represent, this socially engaging project focused on how value changes within certain context. It is focused on what kind of relationships we construct with and through objects around us, how we deal with their history and their future... and most importantly – what does it mean to know an object's history and all people that were part of their existence. This work was created to 'grow' on its own with everyone participating in their own manner and wish.
The project is about building relationships rather being a work that is isolated in a gallery, and by it it is shifting our perception to see deeper into the objects that we use and objects that we share.
The Wanderers were created to give people the chance to build their own experience with the traveling jewelry pieces, allow them to be Co-creators of their existence, connect people regardless of the age, cultural background, location, profession etc. At the same time, the platform designed for the travel log of the Wanderers served as an open forum where every Wearer was welcomed to share their own relationship with the jewelry, in a form of an opened group diary. It was beautiful to see so many formats of the diary keeping. Some of the participants shared photos wearing the jewelry; some shared videos of unique interactions with it; while some sent written text to explain how they connected to it. Many times some gestures in the photos were replicated from one wearer to the next, making the bond even stronger between the participants.
As an Open-ended participatory project, the Story of the 3 Wanderers grew beautifully and almost organically. The call was completely free and open to everyone interested in joining, regardless of the location, age, cultural background etc. Absolutely everyone that applied was part of the journey, meaning every applicant received the jewelry pieces and became part of the story. Each of the Wanderers (the traveling jewelry pieces) had its own journey, visiting one host at a time.
The project has No set goal in terms of the ending, but rather it was designed to develop on its own terms depending on how each participant directed it. As a creator of this project, I felt honoured to witness all of these experiences come to life, and present them on the platform to a wider audience.
As artists, we often are guided by the idea that art creation means to tell our story, concept, view on the world. The truth is that Art becomes much more powerful when it is designed to allow individual and personal expression, making exactly the Experience its biggest value.
Given the open nature of the project, each participant created a unique experience with the involvement. However, the bigger effect was created through the online platform where an audience around the globe got to witness the entire development of the project. The direct benefits of the Wanderers were:
- Being a co-creator in the stories of the traveling pieces
- Creating new relationships with the past and future wearers (hosts) of the pieces
- Connecting with the maker of the piece, or its unique origin story
- Nurturing a sense of Belonging
- Education on open-ended participatory artworks
- Education on contemporary jewelry
- Opening mind on seeing the 'other' side of things we interact with. How objects tell stories and connect us
The platform and participation of the Wanderers was completely open to everyone interested, meaning it covered several countries on 5 continents during its journey.
There were 3 main pillars of the Involvement and structure of the Wanderers.
1 - As the artist and creator of the project, it all started in my jewelry studio;
2 - The +40 participants ("hosts") of the traveling pieces were the direct Co-creators of the stories;
3 - A wide audience around the world - to witness and engage through social media and the platform
The personal experiences of the participants with the Wanderers were diverse and unique! After receiving the piece, each participants had a minimum of 5 days to keep the piece before sending it to the next destination by my directions. During the 'stay', the participant/host was asked to keep a diary of some sort of how she/he related to the piece. A written diary, photographs of how they wear it, videos, etc. There were be no limits in ways of expressing, just as long it
can be shared and presented online as part of the official travel log.
Most of the participants chose Photography as their medium of expression, but not all of them were wearing the jewelry in the photos. I find this especially beautiful since some participants view the jewelry as their daily companion (to go to the office, travel, hang out for a drink, socialize...) so they took pictures of these objects to show the surroundings. The Wanderers even hiked through Iceland, visited art galleries, attended family gatherings.
One participant wrote beautiful stories, as a drama play, where the Antique jewelry piece was addressed as a woman in his lives. In this written play, the narrator explained how this wise woman entered his life, how he admires her for existence and talked to her. Another participant was an artist based in LA, incorporated the Designer's jewelry piece into a video performance as a dancing partner.
As a participatory art project, the Wanderers spanned across several different disciplines.
Starting from Local crafts such as crochet and filigree (techniques used for the jewelry pieces); Cultural Heritage (embedded value and history one of the jewelry had); strong base in Contemporary Art and Jewelry design; and most important - Social Engagement and Cultural Anthropology as the pillars.
The Stories of the Three Wanderers as an art project tackles our imagination, perception and ways we value relationships through and with objects that surround us. It is meant to open up new discussions on the subject, and widen the field of practise/enjoyment in this particular region in relation to the world. It showed great success in creating new connections among artists and craft-lovers around the world, strengthening the dialogue regardless of borders. The travels of the three pieces inspired the participants and audience to think about the pieces that brings us closer together rather than solely existing as objects of our daily lives.
The Wanderers visited around 40 applicants from 20 countries including Latvia, Germany, USA, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Iceland, UK, Thailand, Switzerland, etc. Some of the pieces even changed countries several times while staying with one host, such as the Store-bought one that even though was suppose to be in Maryland, traveled to Panama and Caribbean for a 10 day vacation with the host for the carnivals.
The beauty of this project was its open concept for individual interpretation, and the nature of it to be driven by the participants themselves. As the author of the idea and coordinator, I only had the task to oversee the process and publish what was given. The main actors in this project were all the hosts, deciding how to communicate with the jewelry, how to treat it and what to present to the public. Each of them set a step further for the following one, opening up the entire concept to a broader stage. What started for some as travel documentation continued as video representation of the hosts relation to the piece... ended up as a written intimate discussion with the brooch treated as a person.
As opposed to reconstructing a place to bring out our sense of Belonging, how about we shift the paradigm a bit? I think about the true sense of what is connecting people, what does make them feel as part of a community and how do we create means for deeper connections. As an artist, I see Objects as the perfect vessel to create and sustain such relationships - regardless of the location.
As an artist of wearable works, I often think about the context in which my pieces will be worn, displayed and interacted with. It is one of the key features of this art format that make me fall in love with the profession. This 'chameleon' quality that jewelry has, I find fascinating and also the source of many inspirations. How I create and use the piece will most likely not be the same manner in which another person will experience it. The wearer will Add to the existence and value of the piece, making the jewelry piece itself a bond and connector between us.
This dialogue continues if the piece changes another wearer and another environment of course. So this thought lingered in my mind for a long time. I tend to start conversations, observe and test my ideas before I start a participatory project. But most of all, I tend to think about the Other side of things, hidden meanings, or silver linings.
An object is never Just an object. It tells a story, it has financial value, it connects people. It can be a design, heritage, profession symbol, status etc. Many of its values exist simultaneously, and sometimes we need to think deeper to uncover all of its stories. And the biggest beauty of it - with its applicable nature, the stories it tells never end. This is how I see the quality of its connecting nature.
The 3 Wanderers were all with different qualities and origin to begin with:
#1 the Designer's piece - a unique crafted piece from silver and stainless steel crochet created in my studio.
#2 the Store-bought piece - a simple $2 colourful chain t that was bought from a chain store;
#3 the Antique piece - an heirloom jewelry piece with a history behind it. This one came from my family heritage, a beautiful 200 year old silver filigree button that my grandmother wore on her wedding dress
The process chosen is truly unique, but its ideology I believe opens many new paths to be replicated and further advanced. Regardless if a similar methodology will be used in Social art engagement, or another discipline - the baseline of the philosophy is to Inspire.
The 3 Wanderers were deliberately chosen to be so different in their structure, origin and material value. Is it expensive, heirloom or unique; or is it flashy, colourful and trendy? They present deep Symbolism on how our actions are guided in our approach to them, in our interaction and the value we give them. This human quality and its variables can be directly applied in how individuals approach other people, products, communities or even cultures.
Global and Local are antonyms that are almost blurred together in the Wanderers, and not only physically given its borderless structure. When it comes to Means of Perception or Building Relationships, it is the idea that matters and its applicability regardless of the field of use.
Instead of thinking about Global and Local within the project, I see it as Individual within the Collective. Every change in our lives starts on a Personal, Individual level. And therefore, how we see and address the world around us, how we interact and connect with it - directly builds on the Collective entity.
