Dawn Cheung
she/her
Lowell, MA, USA
Dawn Cheung is a goldsmith artist based in Lowell, MA. Previously she studied jewelry arts in Toronto, where she learnt a variety of forging skills to form metal as she wishes to twist and bend.
“This collection engages in a playful exploration of the varied positions of the tentacle, from living free in the sea to grilled in a dish. Focusing on octopus suckers in these pieces enhances visual and tactile pleasure.”
"Bouquet of suckers", 18k yellow gold, lab grown diamonds, 1.2" x .8" x 1.3", 2023
Photo by Paul Ambtman from Digital by DesignWhat does being queer mean to you in relation to your material choices? Is it something you consider?
“I reckon that materials function to give presence to my thought and impulsive ideas. I've used metals recently to mark the skin to leave a mark a trace that says 'hi' and the wearer would feel after taking the piece off, in the instance for the bouquet of suckers ring there should be a halo of little granulated metal balls left on the fingers as an afterglow to the tentacle that was there."
Is the work queer because the maker is queer, or is it queer because the subject matter is queer?
“I am not sure if my work can be considered queer, as I am a person of color but the subject matter is relatable to the maker from a cultural relationship to food and niche media culture from anime."
Anything else you would like to share about this work? This can be an important part of the process, sourcing materials, or research.
“Hong Kong food culture dim sum was a large influence of the ring. Fabricating the ring was a trial and repeat modeling process to figure an approach to forge the ring shank into its form, and placing individual granules inside the ring."