byUs exhibition, 2006
A Girls Best Friend
For the exhibition A Girl’s Best Friend the design collective byUs was inspired by Marilyn Monroe’s famous song. However, Hanan Emquies found chocolate not diamonds (!) to be a woman’s best friend. The explanation is simple:
“I attended a dinner party at a friend’s house with several people I didn’t know. After a delicious meal, we moved into the soft chairs, had coffee – and the conversation totally stopped. Then, the hostess entered the room with a bowl of chocolate and suddenly, conversation started again. It was, when the chocolate entered the room, that I noticed it: That certain glow in all the women’s eyes that made me aware, that chocolate – not diamonds – are a girl’s best friend. I cannot describe or define what I saw, but it was glowing and glorious, a feeling, which is difficult for me to grasp, since I am not that fond of chocolate myself and furthermore was to full to taste the chocolate that night myself. When I finally decided to go for a piece of chocolate, there was nothing left except for the paper wrapping – and this inspired me to try and catch and put into shape that certain glow of a women’s eyes in the chocolate collection.
Other exhibitions
Pearls– Royal splendour– Modern design
Joining this exhibition, Diana Holstein chose to challenge herself taking the “pearl necklace” category to the next level while designing a pearl piece made for modern life, not conservative nostalgia. As such, Diana Holstein’s pearl set can be worn in several ways and for several purposes just as modern life demands: Everyday, cocktail and gala.
The Art Association of August 14th
The Art Association of August 14th has twice invested in works by Hanan Emquies. In 2006 a Lady Chocolate ring in 18 carat gold and in 2012 a 3-in-1 ring in polished silver. The pieces were exhibited alongside the rest of the association’s purchases at Designmuseum Denmark the same year, 2006 and 2012.
Tiara – Queen of Jewels, Jewel of Queens
Diana Holstein was invited to join the exhibition “Tiara – Queen of Jewels, Jewel of Queens”– at the Amalienborg Museum and entered with one of the three crowns, she designed for her final exam at the Academy of Precious Metal Arts. The exhibition set to investigate the tiara in a contemporary setting inviting several of Denmark’s finest goldsmiths and jewellery designers to make a modern interpretation of the tiara.
Anniversary Exhibition
In order to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Galerie Metal, all members of the collective joined an exhibition. Hanan Emquies showcased the eternity ring and was praised by Rector of Design School Kolding and previous Minister of Culture, Elizabeth Gerner Nielsen: “Hanan Emquies’s eternity ring symbolizes the perception of love throughout time. Relationships rarely last for life. We live in serial monogamy. His design underlines the meaning of interpersonal relations, so crucial to man.
Kill your Darling
Hanan Emquies joined Galerie Metal in 2008 and the first exhibition he took part in was Kill Your Darling. The topic of which was to define one piece of jewellery – your darling – and deconstruct it. The solving of this artistic and aesthetic assignment defined the exhibition.
Shoulder Jewellery
Goldsmith Trine Neersø was a close friend and colleague, but alas not for long. In 2005 she died at a young age, leaving behind her loved ones and a great gap. In her honour and memory, the design collective byUs, which Trine belonged to, staged an exhibition at Officinet, with friends and colleagues paying homage to Trine while designing a piece of jewellery for the shoulders – Trine’s preferred place to wear her jewellery.
Klassisk Update
The archetypes and classics of the jewellery sphere were challenged, reinterpreted and retold, when byUs presented the design collective’s newest designs at the exhibition “CLASSIC UPDATE”. The exhibition focused on traditional and conservative perceptions of jewellery and the desire to rebel against it. For the exhibition, Hanan Emquies chose to work with the eternity ring.
Final exhibition at Academy of Precious Metal Arts
For her final exam, Diana Holstein chose to work with the concept of the divine and the earthly. She wrote in her thesis:
I have always been fascinated by existentialistic questions such as “why do we exist” and “how do we exist”, “where do we come from” and “where do we go from here”. It is like a search for the meaning of life. In order to define a clear and simple approach to the topic, I decided to work around the principle of contrast – light and darkness – and the graphical symbols circle and square.
A Girls Best Friend
For the exhibition A Girl’s Best Friend the design collective byUs was inspired by Marilyn Monroe’s famous song. However, Hanan Emquies found chocolate not diamonds (!) to be a woman’s best friend. The explanation is simple:
“I attended a dinner party at a friend’s house with several people I didn’t know. After a delicious meal, we moved into the soft chairs, had coffee – and the conversation totally stopped…
Hans Christian Andersen
In the event of Hand Christian Andersen’s 200th anniversary in 2005, byUs staged a jewellery exhibition evolving around the famous poet’s life and fairy tales. For the exhibition, Hanan Emquies chose the fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea” thus creating a collection of silver and gold jewellery each with a small gold ball or pearl hidden inside the creases of the metal.
Final exhibition at Academy of Precious Metal Arts
For the exhibition and his final exam at Academy of Precious Metal Arts in 2004, Hanan Emquies chose to investigate the common notion of the ring, asking himself questions about the way we traditionally perceive the ring today. The ring is per se defined as a circular shape with a hole to be placed and kept at the finger.