In modern times, jewellery is associated with fashion and individual taste. Over past decades, we have witnessed significant developments in innovative design and expression of jewellery as an art form.

But jewellery brings also a rich social legacy. Traditionally, jewellery has been a powerful source of protection. Ornaments have been used to claim friendship, bring good fortune and ward off evil.

To many of us today, charms, amulets and talismans are anachronisms. They belong to a superstitious past, before we rationally took responsibility for our own fate. Modernity teaches us to take individual responsibility for our actions.

But in the 21st century, we have seen a change of tack. In what is sometimes characterised as our ‘network age’, we are much more aware of the ways our fates are interlinked. Our era is defined by social networking platforms such as Facebook, which thrive on messages of encouragement and tokens of affection.

While we know to trust in scientific rationality when confronting our own fears, we are aware that a sign of encouragement to others can make a significant difference. After all, isn’t one of the greatest fears that of being abandoned by others.

The goals of Joyaviva are:

• to explore a contemporary context for the practice of ‘power jewellery’
• to develop objects that can respond to shared hopes and fears
• to create a platform where there is cultural dialogue through jewellery across the Pacific , from west to east, Australasia to Latin America
• to consider the role of chance in an increasingly managed world
• to respond to the challenge of Facebook  by celebrating the quality rather than quantity of friendships