Die Eröffnung findet am Samstag 25.01.2025 ab 17 Uhr,

in den Räumlichkeiten des Vereins Plattform Schmuckkunst, am Mariahilferplatz 3, 8020 Graz, statt.

Am 26.01.2025 wird um 19 Uhr per Instagram-Livestream durch die Ausstellung geführt.

Im Anschluss werden das Eröffnungsvideo und die Fotos der Arbeiten ebenso auf der Vereinshomepage zugänglich sein.

Die Ausstellung kann vom 25.01. – 01.02.2025 vor Ort besucht werden.

 
„Glücklich bis ans Ende ihrer Tage“ beschreibt oft das ideale Ende von Märchen oder romantischen Geschichten, in dem die Figuren nach der Überwindung von Herausforderungen in ewiger Glückseligkeit leben.

Es steht für die Vorstellung von Erfüllung, Frieden und einem perfekten Abschluss, bei dem alle Konflikte gelöst sind.
 
In der realen Welt jedoch erfordert das Erreichen von Glück und Zufriedenheit aktives Handeln.

Angesichts der Herausforderungen, denen wir heute gegenüberstehen, reicht es nicht aus, auf eine glückliche Fügung zu warten.

Um unser eigenes „glücklich bis ans Ende ihrer Tage“ zu gestalten, müssen wir selbstwirksam werden, Verantwortung übernehmen und mutig die Schritte gehen, die uns näher an unser Ziel bringen.

Nur durch aktives Handeln können wir das Leben formen, das wir uns wünschen.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Happily ever after" often describes the ideal ending of fairy tales or romantic stories, in which the characters live in eternal bliss after overcoming challenges. It represents the idea of fulfillment, peace, and a perfect ending where all conflicts are resolved.

In the real world, however, achieving happiness and satisfaction requires active action.

Given the challenges we face today, it is not enough to wait for a happy coincidence.

To create our own "happily ever after," we must become empowered, take responsibility, and courageously take the steps that bring us closer to our goal.

Only through active action can the life be shaped we want.

© Photos - All rights are reserved by the respective owner.

The princess only has half a golden ball. But she has become rich, rich in experience.
The ball falls into the well and is taken out by the princess herself.
She doesn‘t need a frog for that. She lives in a non-binary relationship and
lives happily ever after. “Hap:pily ever after”

„Hap:pily ever after“ - Froschkönig
brooch / ring
silver, gold, stainless steel

In the story of Rapunzel, when she lets down her hair for the prince to climb the tower,

it symbolizes her autonomy and control over her body and choices.
Despite being imprisoned, she uses her own power (her hair) to decide who can approach her.

This represents her agency and self-determination, even in a situation of oppression.
The principle “only YES means YES” underscores the importance of sexual autonomy

by asserting that individuals have the right to make clear, voluntary decisions about their own bodies.

It highlights that consent must be explicit, enthusiastic, and freely given, reinforcing everyone’s right to control their
sexual boundaries and reject coercion or assumptions.

only yes means yes
brooch
tin, silver, aluminium, steel, leather cord

....white body in porcellan.....kaiserlich....a golden crown....kaiserlich....in a
golden world....kaiserlich....
...read the märchen and u will understand.....

Des Kaisers neue Kleider
brooch / object
copper, gold, steel, porcelain

A book about the fairy tale of our idyllic, perfect world.

The illustrations on each page were created using found objects from our natural paradises.
Depicted are natural scenes as they appear in our romanticized view of a perfect world, crafted from the very trash found in these places.

Litter that slowly consumes them and will still be there when humankind has already
lived happily ever after….

happily ever after
brooch
rubbish, synthetic resin, copper, silver, gold foil

A leaf, easily perishable, was replicated in everlasting materials.

The leaf lives on forever. It lives happily ever after.
Represting of how life feels magical with the smallest and most random things.

It (the leaf) met me when I was on a walk, present in the now, eating up all of my surroundings.

It was dark, only orange lanterns lit up the world.
A bunch of leaves located on the ground, probably all beech leaves.

One was covered with some water drops, glistening in the light.

It caught my attention and I took it with me.
First a real dried up beech leaf was rolled onto a 0.8mm thick silver metal
sheet, to replicate it as accurately as possible.

Then it was chiseled out and sawn out.

The holes were made for the six stones which were set with prongs.
At the end the brochure was added on with a construction on the back which is connected to the front prongs.

now
brooch
silver, quartz, amber

Happily ever after in fairytails often start after the princess marries the prince.
In our patriachal society marriage is painted as something that a woman should want.

Something a woman needs to be fulfilled and happy.

The reality of marriage and relationships in some cases trap women in positions that are in no way beneficial to her, only him.

Too often woman give up dreams and parts of themself to please the man.
My piece represents woman standing up for themselves and focusing on
their own needs - flourisching within this broken system that is long overdue a change.
The flawed patriachal concept is shown by a broken bear trap.

The ring inside the blooming flower is the promise of marriage - used as bait but also attained
by the self fulfilled woman, not needing the man to be happy.

step out of the trap
brooch
brass, copper, silver, gemstone, wool, beads

I remember the forest as an significant location in fairytales.

A place which could cause so many different feelings, depending on the story which is told.
As time makes trees grow it makes the main characters in the stories grow too.

The „Found Object“ I used is therefore a piece of wood.

Its former purpose of use (clothespin) stands for female work which is done day by day, similar to mastered challenges of female characters in fairytales.

Happily
brooch
found object (wood), silver, wire

The vodyanoy is a water spirit from Slavic mythology.

He is said to dwell in a swamp, in a whirlpool of a river, pond or lake and likes especially to live near a water mill.

When angered, the vodyanoy breaks dams or washes down water mills.

He guards the water body where he lives and is very defensive, when people come too close to his home, he will drown them.

Because the vodyanoy is such a good protector, I decided to make a lucky charm based on the shape
of his body, by pouring tin in a premade silicone form, wich was casted off a clay modell.
The vodyanoy will protect the liquids in your body and keeps diseases away from the carrier.
A little pouch was made, where he can be stored inside.

He looks out of a little window, in order to protect the owner even better.

Vodyanoy
necklace / object
tin, velvet, cotton

The traditional roles that princesses take on in fairy tales are often passive.
They are portrayed as waiting for their prince, defined solely by their beauty and grace.
A modern princess doesn‘t want to conform to expectations.

She is confident, independent and strong.

This brooch symbolizes her courage and determination to break out of the narrow confines of traditional fairy tale roles, which is
represented by escaping from the storybook.
The brooch is a wearable work of art and conveys that every woman, regardless of her background, has the right to write her own story.
The brooch is therefore not just a piece of jewelry but a symbol of emancipation.

Selbstbestimmt
brooch
tin, plaster, yarn, steel

What does it take to live „happily ever after“? While constant happiness seems
impossible and „forever“ feels like an illusion, the question remains:

What do we need to find happiness? What do I need?
In this project, I’ve created a brooch with seven charms, each symbolizing a key aspect of happiness.

Each Object is thoughtfully crafted with its own unique design to highlight the individual importance of these values.

Together, they form a personal story of what happiness truly means.
The charms are arranged like a mobile, representing the constant motion and balance of life.

It’s a reminder that things don’t need to be perfectly in sync.
Life asks for different things at different times, and sometimes you will need one thing more than the others.

Happiness often lies in the acceptance that we don’t need everything to be in perfect order to feel whole.

Is about accepting the natural shifts and imbalances.

Sieben
brooch
silver, tin

The brooch shows a magical scene keeping with our motto “Märchen - Happily Ever After”.

The upper brass plate with the colourful threaded beads, is meant to represent a portal that has eternal entry,

because you never know in what world you will be transported.

The silhouette with the red embroidered beads, represents my eternally long red dreadlocks (I had!).

In my opinion they had something very magical, fairytale-like and almost something enchanted about them.

The brooch’s clasp itself is quite unusual because it is not made out of thin stainless-steel wire.

I chose to go with a 1.5 cm thick brass wire.
This is actually not coincidence.

The wire is meant to resemble a key.

No matter from which world you enter, through the portal, the key may be needed sooner or later.

eternal enchantment
brooch
brass, glass and hard plastic beads

The object as a showcase of materials and significant indexes, icons, symbols:
In other words: How do we think, tell and make t/old stories, in this case with fragments of pottery and of a spoon

(from my grannies, they were storytellers during childhood).

The semiotic range: The fish-like shape is reminiscent of and shows a net, referring the fairy tale “The Fisherman and his Wife”.
Symbolization interweaves private with generally known narratives and a certain novel:

Gunter Grass, “Der Butt”: Reminiscent of the fairy tale, the magic fish loses significance, while the importance of wish fulfillment grows. “Ilsebill salzte nach” (she added more salt):

The first sentence of the novel introducesthe woman in a spectacular way - She will do the telling.

Ilsebill salzte nach
brooch / object
silver, copper, stainless steel wire, one ceramic shard, one part of a spoonring sterling silver

„Happily ever after“ – can it truly exist?

This piece challenges the illusion of perfection that fairy tales so often present, instead celebrating the reality of
imperfection and the beauty it holds.
This locket tells a story of the darker side of fairy tales.

The silver vines entwining it´s copper lid evoke overgrown gardens and abandoned castles – places full
of secrets and untold stories.
Inside, a broken mirror reveals what fairy tales often conceal: the fragility behind the facade of perfect happiness.

While mirrors in these tales symbolize clarity and truth, a shattered mirror exposes the cracks in

the „happily ever after.“
The real world is far from flawless – everything, everyone, and every story carries its own imperfections.

And that’s exactly what makes it meaningful.
Without these flaws, mistakes, and even broken mirrors, life would be unbearably dull.

It is in these fractures that true depth, beauty, and meaning are found.

Shattered Illusions
object
silver, copper