Alana Jones

My work exposes the beauty in unusual skin conditions, more specifically vitiligo, and demonstrates how contemporary and interactive jewellery can be a powerful way to start conversations around differences and our right to feel beautiful and comfortable in our bodies. Vitiligo is something I have always had, along with a sense of alienation and isolation related to a lack of understanding around this condition. So, I wanted to learn about the condition from an artistic perspective and use my skills to create innovative and exciting designs.

During the development of my work, I connected with skin scientists and discovered hidden and exciting elements to the skin, including random patterns of cells and bright organic structures. I developed these inspiring elements into materials which can visually educate and expose the beauty. A key material that I experimented with is photochromic pigments, which change colour when exposed to sunlight. This pigment demonstrates vitiligo’s randomness, the different layers, patchy patterns, vulnerability and how the pigment slowly disappears. As the sun interacts with my pieces, dull colours are transformed into bright patches and swirls of pinks and purples which exaggerate the organic cells and patterns in the body. 

This condition is so beautiful, but misunderstood, so I want to make people fall in love with it through colour, shapes, interactions and materials which all resemble its beauty and power.