Wiebke Pandikow is a German jewellery artist living and working in Helsinki, Finland. Growing up in the secluded forests of northeast Germany distilled within her a great love and concern for the natural world. Something that informs the strong environmental message of her jewellery today. She predominately works with plastic bags. Creating exquisite art jewellery which one would be challenged to identify the original material.
“Experimenting with materials and techniques, indulging my fascination with details, textures and natural shapes, I let my mind roam to create stories and connections. I hope to reflect my care for the natural world in my work, my interest in sustainability and how everything is connected.”
Wiebke Pandikow
Falling into the vocation of goldsmithing, somewhat accidentally, Wiebke has found a lifelong passion. Whilst studying for a BA in jewellery designer at Lahti University of Applied Sciences, Finland, she took part in a ten month exchange to Japan. Here she learnt how to work with urushi, Japanese lacquer, and aesthetics. It is this background that grounds Wiebke’s traditional craftsmanship and the patience and diligence associated with it.
Ethics and Materials
The attribution of value to certain materials is something we must address and dissect if we are to ensure ethical jewellery production and consumption. Connotations of preciousness often granted to only the most polluting and costly (earth and human) metals and stones.
Recent years has seen an increase in the use of non precious, scavenged and re purposed materials for jewellery. However it remains small scale. Wiebke is hopefully that major change is coming. Speaking to Sabina Dragusanu in 2020 she said-
“Using an outright waste material and transforming it into jewellery of all things, through very time-consuming processes and to the point that it is hardly recognizable anymore, still tends to awe people and shift their perspective on the material. That gives me an opening to talk about it, about its worth but also its dangers. To make people see it for the incredibly useful and malleable material it can be if used right and not just as a cheap, thoughtless, single-use-commodity.”
“Possibility of Beauty”
Since 2014 Wiebke has been predominantly working with plastic bags. A polarising and ubiquitous material. One which has enabled great cultural development, yet has enacted such heavy and far-reaching consequences on the environment. They have come to symbolise a mindless consumerism and a throw-away society. To Wiebke this is what makes plastic such an interesting material to work with. Enabling jewellery to become a force of good in helping to combat how we begin to tackle the problems of our wasteful plastic consumption. From this very polluting material she crafts textures and structures that recall forms of a natural world. Saying “in our culture, plastics are commonplace, invaluable yet insignificant. For me they bear the possibility of beauty.”
Reducing the impact her work and personal life have on the environment is of the utmost importance to her ethics. She ensures impact is as minimal as possible by working with tools and materials she has, as well as operating a ‘borrow, repair or make yourself’ system.
Background
Since October 2013 Wiebke has worked in Helsinki under the trade name Silver Crane. Over time she has shifted from a traditional practice to one that is more experimental and art jewellery focused.
Wiebke’s art jewellery has been featured in exhibitions, Biennials and shops across Europe including Austria, Lithuania and Finland. She has been supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation as well as the Arts Promotion Center Finland. Pieces of her work can be found in the Museum Arnhem, Netherlands, the Finnish State Art Commission and the Craft Museum of Finland, among others.
For more information please see https://wpandikow.com/
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