Kerianne Quick USA
Keys To A Lost Lock II brooch
Piece created for Challenge 2023 Jewelry and Travel (maximum price 150€)
Materials vegetable tanned leather, brass, copper, dye, semi-rigid plastic
Size 135x50x10mm
When Quick’s family emigrated, they did so under duress. To bring a few small fragments along, her great aunts carefully stitched small precious objects into hems and coat linings. To be allowed to travel abroad, a would-be tourist could wear a simple wedding band, a plain watch, and carry only $20. And to further assure the authorities at the port that they would return… a set of house keys placed in a pocket. Tools that would never again slip into the lock they unlocked – the keys transformed into symbol of mourning – for a home, a life, and a country.
