Jin Ah Jo
For Korean-born Jin Ah Jo, making jewellery offers a creative means to express her cross-cultural experience—her craft has the capacity to illustrate her identity in an artistic sense. Jin Ah has studied jewellery making and jewellery-related courses in both Korea and Australia, culminating most recently in the completion of a Master of Fine Art (Metals and Jewellery Design) at Monash University. Jin Ah works from her studio at Northcity4, Brunswick.
Jin Ah forms perforated mild steel, often used for industrial or architectural purposes, into sharp geometric structures retaining its original character and qualities. This transforms the steel from its manufacturing origins into a wearable piece of contemporary jewellery that explores form and space. Jin Ah moved to Australia in 2000. Her use of diverse materials such as steel and silver, moulded and shaped, creates unexpected forms that can be read as reflecting Jin Ah’s cultural experience of relocating from Korea to Australia.
In 2017, Jin Ah launched her first precious collection, seamlessly transitioning her industrial aesthetic into a range of beautiful rings using gold, diamonds and gems.