Liana Pattihis, from Nicosia, Cyprus.

Living in London, UK, since 1980.

With a background in Interior Design, ​Liana Pattihis has been creating works of contemporary jewellery for more than fifteen years. Pattihis has been living and practicing in London since 1980 and graduated with a degree in Jewellery Design from Middlesex University, under the leadership of Caroline Broadhead, with First Class Honours in 2007. Enamel is a prominent and mastered technique employed within her artistic practice. Her innovative use beyond traditional applications has seen her works featured in international exhibitions and publications.

The processes Liana uses in making her jewellery are ones of building and burying...The natural quality of the surface gives a feel of a much earlier age, yet buried under the enamel are anonymous, potentially unattractive, silver chains of this age of mass production. The point of delight is not only that unique, colourful and exciting pieces of jewellery are created, but that the rules of enamelling have been broken and rewritten so successfully.

/ Caroline Broadhead August 2010

Transforming broken crockery into unique, wearable objects offers the opportunity to celebrate not only their origin, but also their fragmented incidental qualities. The pieces are mostly hand painted, vintage or antique, and there is always lavish quality and craftsmanship associated with their age. The embellished broken pieces, which once formed part of a ‘bigger picture’, now have their own independent story to tell, as they carry the memory of the original objects, implying their history and assume a new identity as contemporary jewellery.

To mend my broken heart - Collection

To mend my broken heart, is Liana Pattihis' collection of jewellery and objects inspired by Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery. Replacing the lacquer and powder dust used in the traditional method, with epoxy and silver or gold chain, the aim is to embrace the damaged and the imperfect by highlighting the cracks and missing pieces with the chain. The mended flaws become part of the design, offering the object a new identity. Healing the scars of the flawed and the unwanted, the object becomes purposeful and desirable again.

Drawn to the philosophical interpretation of Kintsugi, that the cracks and seams are merely a symbol of an event that happened in the life of the object, rather than the cause of its destruction, the pieces are reborn, granting the object a lease of a new life. Using a selection of unwanted and damaged wedding gifts and objects collected over the years, a collection of curious, wearable pieces and decorative objects is created, whilst giving the original pieces a unique new identity and function.

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Liana Pattihis has succeeded in overturning the alphabet of an ancient technique such as enamelling, so as to create her own personal language. She makes use of apparently anonymous industrial silver chains, that she transforms, rewriting their destiny and their purpose. Another interesting aspect is the reinterpretation of ancient jewellery from Cyprus, her home country. Each piece has its own unique character that is formed during the making process.