Yuan Wan

‘Chapter 57’ is a series of seashell-composite necklaces that explore cultural identity and belonging among the Asian diaspora. As a jewellery and ceramics designer, Yuan Wan is motivated by the marginalisation of non-Western cultures, the resurgence of racialised rhetoric, and increasing resource scarcity, and her project seeks to celebrate diversity through the concept of continuity in Chinese alchemy. Her reinterpretation of traditional Chinese knots and the I Ching reconnects the body and ecology with recycled shell waste. ‘Chapter 57’ thus preserves cultural identity, respects the finitude of environmental resources, and projects a vision of harmonious coexistence for humanity and nature as we shape sustainable futures.