Jaydan Moore
Photograph by Mercedes Jelinek.
It could be argued that of all traditional craft disciplines, it is silversmithing that sits most uneasily in contemporary life. Once the apex of the trades—it was Paul Revere’s métier, after all—it now suffers a reputation for extreme conservatism. Nothing seems more old-fashioned, more emblematic of an outdated social order, than a full silver service, a marker of conspicuous consumption that required a staff of servants to keep it in high polish. Jaydan Moore’s work is an extended reflection on this legacy. His method is to reclaim antique pieces of silver and silver plate, then collage them together into expressionist compositions.
This yields a complex set of ideas about the meanings embedded in this inherited materiality. On one hand, Moore’s willingness to slice into historic pieces is itself an affirmation of their obsolescence. Yet his works also draw attention to the detail and specificity of old silver. In effect, he is claiming the latent value of the objects, shaped skillfully by the hands of artisans no longer living. In past generations, silver was prized partly for its role in asserting inheritance, the legacy of wealth. Moore recasts this idea as a story not about owners, but makers.
Platter / Splatter wall sculpture in found silver-plated platters. Designed and made by Jaydan Moore, USA, 2020.
75" L x 2" W x 80" H
190.5cm L x 5.1cm W x 203.2cm H
SP1377
Courtesy of Ornamentum Gallery