Joy BC
Gaze (Hazel), 2024
Bronze with Japanese patina, recycled 925 silver, recycled 18ct yellow gold and natural hazel brown diamonds ring.
Edition of 8
Signed and numbered
In this work, Joy BC explores the gaze as an intimate and emotional act of perception. Rather than depicting a specific identity or narrative, she presents a fragment of an imagined portrait: two eyes, quietly suspended, looking outward. Anonymous and universal, they invite reflection not on who is being seen, but on how we see.
For the artist, gazing is not merely visual — it is an experience shaped by feeling, memory, and presence. The piece speaks to the tenderness of attentive looking: the ability to notice beauty even within the harsh or mundane, like delicate flowers emerging through cracks in concrete. It is a meditation on conscious perception and the quiet wonder that surrounds us.
The irises and pupils are set with hazel-brown diamonds, a deliberate and poetic choice. Though brown eyes are the most common worldwide, they are rarely represented in jewellery, where rarity often defines value. By centring this warm, familiar tone, Joy BC celebrates a universal beauty while gently challenging traditional hierarchies of preciousness.
Material contrasts deepen the work’s meaning. Patinated bronze — treated using a technique the artist learned in Japan — evokes the legacy of classical sculpture and the passage of time. Silver and diamonds, in contrast, belong to the intimate language of adornment. This interplay between monumentality and wearability lies at the heart of Joy BC’s practice, where jewels function as both sculptural objects and emotional talismans.
The gaze here also reaches beyond the immediate world, suggesting introspection, dreaming, and a sense of inner movement. As with much of Joy BC’s work, the jewel’s beauty lies not only in how it appears, but in how it feels — emotionally and physically — when held or worn.
