Linki van Zyl Art Jewellery
Linki van Zyl is currently a freelance designer (concept development and CAD) as well as an artist jeweller. She recently left her position as permanent lecturer at the Tshwane University of Technology’s Jewellery Design Programme, after almost 5 years of teaching to focus her attention on design, the development of ranges, creative jewellery, and her Masters Degree.
While still busy completing her National Diploma in Fine & Applied Arts at the (then) Pretoria Technikon, she started doing evening jewellery classes and was offered a position in a jewellery workshop within a few weeks. She completed her apprenticeship in a jewellery
studio (goldsmith’s workshop?) and qualified as goldsmith at the end of 1997. She then completed her B-Tech Degree in Jewellery Design and Manufacture, also with the TUT Jewellery Programme. Linki has been in the jewellery industry for over 13 years now.
Linki is a multiple award winning designer and her design accomplishments includes, ‘Overall winner’ in 2007 and 2nd place winner in 2004 of the Plat Africa Awards, Anglo Gold Riches of Africa 2000 award winner, 1st place professional category in 1999, and ‘Overall winner’ in 2005 of the Jewellex Collection Awards.
Her current approach to jewellery design, relates to the neo Neo-Baroque spirit that is evident in contemporary art, design and fashion trends. Her designs are stylistically eclectic with extravagant visual excess that borrows from history, though being rooted in the contemporary. Dazzling brilliant colour accompanied by the flamboyance and ornate patterns of the Neo-Baroque are combined with crisp clean lines of contemporary jewellery.
Dominant themes of her inspiration include nature, historical ornament and decorative patterns from art history and antiquity. She tends to work with the repetition of very basic, almost geometric shapes, abstractions of nature, capturing the essence of natural forms which serves as a blank canvas for the application of these ornate historical patterns as decorative elements. She frequently incorporates elements and motives from other disciplines, into her work. She started her career as an artist (painting) before she encountered jewellery, and also holds a Diploma in Fine and Applied Arts at TUT, with painting as major subject.
Linki uses modern alternative materials and techniques, such as acrylics, plastics and art materials, along with precious metals. The application of synthetic materials and techniques, along with traditional handwork techniques such as inlays and ‘marriage of metals’ allows her to explore the graphic qualities of metal, playing around with ‘multilayeredness’, light, shadow, colour, pattern and ornament . The reflective qualities of platinum and translucency of clear acrylic heighten the illusion of spatial recession, multiple layers and ‘optical trickery’ in her jewellery. Intricate ornate patterns, real and reflected, evoke a sense of history, nostalgia and passing time.
Email: linkiart@spi.org.za
