Zihan Zhou is doctoral researcher based at the School of Design and Creative Arts, Loughborough University, UK.

Using contemporary jewellery as a medium, Zihan explores narrative expressions of jewellery inspired by culture heritage, contemporary culture and personal emotions.

Zihan is the winner of Goldsmith Craftsmanship & Design Award 2019 '2D Design Fashion Jewellery QVC Design' Gold Award.

Her work has been exhibited at Munich Jewellery Week 2018; Lanng Space, Beijing; M50 Art Space, Shanghai.

Project title: Stones of the Grassland I

Project statement :

Stones of the Grassland I is a series of brooches developed as part of Zihan Zhou’s PhD project, Wearable Memories: Contemporary Jewellery Practice Based on the Study of Nomadic Culture in Northern China. The research explores how contemporary jewellery can embody personal and collective memories, with specific reference to the disappearing nomadic culture of northern China.

This work was developed in response to the petroglyphs from the Yinshan Rock Art in Inner Mongolia, China. They serve as a cultural, as well as an emotional an aesthetic inspiration. The brooches are designed to commemorate, preserve, and reflect on the nomadic heritage of Inner Mongolia, translating cultural motifs and personal sentiments into contemporary jewellery forms.

The brooches are crafted from silver and shaped like pebbles, each with engraved animal images drawn from the Yinshan Rock Art. These pebble-like forms reference both the lithic inspiration and the material of oboo - Stone cairns often used as both geographical markers and ceremonial sites in Inner Mongolia. The engraved motifs depict key animals central to their nomadic life. Through transmuting ancient imagery into wearable objects, these pieces serve as bridges between contemporary jewellery, my historical heritage, and the values and aesthetics of nomadic culture.

Stones are employed as a key visual element in this series, symbolising the materialisation of memory and emotion. As a natural substance, stone has long been imbued with symbolic meaning due to its enduring and universal nature. From prehistoric carvings to historical monuments, from ritual practices to personal collections, stone has a profound connection to human memory, emotion and spirit. For the artist, stones also connected to her personal recollections - Childhood journeys with her family across the vast steppes of northern China.

While stone serves as a symbolic visual element, the actual material used in this series is silver, which inherently conveys notions of ‘value’ and ‘preciousness’. especially in the Inner Mongolian nomadic culture where silver was an important social and cultural symbol. It existed in currency, dowries and, most importantly, as personal adornment. By association and contrast, the work thus articulates cultural and emotional significance to Yinshan Rock Art as ethnic heritage. Its historical roles and symbolic associations render silver an apt material for expressing both cultural value and collective memory in this body of work.

This series is part of a practice-based doctoral research project combining creative practice with theoretical inquiry. Grounded in theoretical frameworks of contemporary jewellery, memory studies, and northern Chinese nomadic culture, the research employs practice as its primary research method, integrating approaches such as auto-ethnography and ethnography into jewellery-making. Supported by ‘Doctoral Researcher Support Fund’ from Loughborough University Doctoral College, Zihan conducted a two-month field study in Inner Mongolia.

By combining autoethnography and ethnography, the project forms a layered dialogue between the artist’s individual identity and the collective cultural landscape of Inner Mongolian nomadism. The personal ‘self’ is simultaneously embedded within, and reflective of, the broader cultural identity under study. This dual perspective allows the work to articulate both intimate emotional resonance and critical reflection on the significance and value of nomadic heritage in a contemporary context.

Supervisor:

Dr Roberta Bernabei

Professor Phillip Lindley

Images:

1. Stones of the Grassland I: Riding horse, 2023

2. Stones of the Grassland I: Ox​, 2023

Brooch. Silver, stainless steel wire (for the clasp).

3. Stones of the Grassland I: Riding horse​, 2023

Brooch. Silver, stainless steel wire (for the clasp).

4. Stones of the Grassland I: Ibex, 2023

Brooch. Silver, stainless steel wire (for the clasp).