SVD Voices: Kiala Kanzi

 

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work. What’s the first recollection you have of jewels? 
 The first recollection of jewelry is probably my grandma’s jewelry box. I LOVED it. So many stories to every piece of jewelry—where she bought it, or who she got it from, or to what occasions she would wear it… And my grandad would go with me to this shop—that I still love a lot, in Munich and, for my birthday or Christmas, I could choose beads to make little bracelets and necklaces… It was amazing: all the shapes, and colors, and materials! 

You engage in diverse artistic practices (photography, handicraft, dance…) how did jewelry become your main way of expression? And how do all these disciplines coexist? 

I feel like jewelry has become very much the primary thing I work on, just because it’s also the one I make a living with. But I like expressing myself through different materials and in different ways, and for certain things jewelry is not enough or, should I say, just not the right tool. Different moments, different emotions, have different tools when it comes to expressing them. 

 

 

When creating, how much space do you leave for improvisation and fluidity? How much does metal allow you to be flexible and spontaneous? 

That’s what I love about this material. Metal. It’s so magical. Fluid and sturdy almost at the same time. It’s a mystery to a lot of people how to shape it, and there are so many ways. I guess when I work, I always leave space for spontaneity. It’s essential for the person I am. I know that you can go very planned and structured on it also. But that’s just not my character.

 

 

You re-shape the habitual ways of wearing jewels. Your work is transgressive, your jewels include body and headpieces… a work that almost falls between the borders of jewelry and sculpture. About the body and the object’s interaction: how do metal and bodily adaptation intertwine?

Jewelry follows the body. It enhances parts, gives them a shine. I love that. I love finding a new or different way of positioning jewelry. It’s a challenge and I accepted it! 

Tell us now about the symbols and patterns that we find in your work! And what about the spiral?

The spiral is life. It is everywhere. And it’s endless, timeless, and cultureless. It’s the world, and that’s all things I want to be. One and all at the same time. 

 

 

You also materialize customer’s wishes by customizing their pieces. Tell us about this service, the motivation behind it, and the complicity it creates. How do you feel about giving new meanings to pieces? 
I feel that’s where jewelry comes from. Like my grandma’s jewelry box, it tells stories, and it lasts forever. It gets passed on from generation to generation and can be remolded over and over again. We wore jewelry to protect us or to show to which tribe we belong to, or to connect us to a special human. This is what fascinates me, the soul that a piece gets once it finds the right owner. 

 

 

What’s your favorite piece you ever created?
I’m a Libra, I cannot answer this question. 

Describe Kiala’s universe in 3 words.
Forever changing. Forever learning (that’s 4…. Sorry!)

We’ve seen your jewels on Jorja Smith, Karol G, Bad Bunny… who or where would you like to see your pieces on? Do you have a dream collab?
All these great names are amazing, but I don’t believe in this. Whether it’s Bad Bunny or a random person, in the end it counts how much the people value the work you have done.

 

What inspires you to create?
My life.

What is the message you feel you are transmitting through your creations?
There is always a way. Believe in yourself. Feel your strength, your glow.

Is there a breakthrough moment in your life that lead you to be where you are today?
The death of my ex-boyfriend and the birth of my child. Death and birth are probably the most powerful moments in life and will change you forever.

What’s coming in the near future? 
Greatness only.

 

 

Interview by SVD
Photos: Courtesy of the artist