Will and Way: A collection by J.Y GAO

Jing Yao Gao, Founder and Creative Director of J.Y GAO, is set to show her latest jewellery collection, “Will and Way” at Atomic The Gallery’s ‘Moving Landscapes’ exhibition on May 5th. Atomic The Gallery is a new space launched by Atomic, a shop specializing in furniture, lighting, and art objects, located in the heart of Queen West’s Art + Design district. Atomic The Gallery will display works from its collection of 1960′s & 1970′s artists, who’s works have been on display at Atomic since 2008. It will also exhibit collections by selected contemporary artists, with J.Y Gao’s ‘Moving Landscapes’ being the first.

When crafting her designs, Gao is inspired by movement. “I believe movement enhances beauty… the moment something moves it captures our attention, it’s human nature to be drawn to movement.” Viewing the human form as a moving landscape, Gao’s vision is to leverage the anatomy and kinetics of the body and create jewellery that transforms with it.

Her design process for this collection involves a lot of trial and error and going backwards, “Most jewellery designs begin with the product, and are then fitted onto a part of the body,” she explains. “I reverse the process, starting with the end first, sculpting right on top of the body to create interesting designs that change as you move.”

Gao designed ten different triangles; each triangle shares at least one side dimension that is the same as another triangle. The entire collection is a 126 piece puzzle. Gao combines the triangles in infinite ways, creating necklaces, rings and earrings. “I am just getting started with this puzzle. I can literally take the entire collection apart, rearrange the puzzle pieces, and form a completely new collection, again and again. That is precisely what I plan to do.” Gao says.

Her decision to create a collection using triangles is inspired by “The Dinner Party” by Judy Chicago. The Dinner Party is an art installation at the Brooklyn Museum that commemorates women who have made significant contributions in history. The dinner table is in the shape of an equilateral triangle, symbolizing the need for equality. “I wanted to express the fact that our society still struggles with inequality everyday while we fight for equality, which is why I have combined equilateral triangles with scalene and isosceles triangles.” she explains.

Gao was part of Toronto Fashion Incubator’s Fashion Your Future program last year, which helped propel her to this point in her career. “TFI’s Fashion Your Future program was life changing for me,” she says. “Becoming a finalist in the program gave me confidence that I can do it, even without being formally educated in it… TFI has led me to meet amazing peers and mentors that make this journey possible.”

Have a look at a few pieces from the stunning Will and Way collection, and see more in person at Atomic The Gallery starting Friday, May 5.

---

Ashley is a contributor at Glossi Mag.
She is inspired by creative leaders and musical theatre. If she’s not belting out show tunes, she’s taking a nap.