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Luci Jockel on adjusting to COVID-19 and exploring black holes

Philadelphia-based artist Luci Jockel teaches jewelry and metalsmithing at Towson University, is a member of JV Collective, and is one of our 2019 Emerging Voices artists. @lucijockel

↑ Luci Jockel, Death’s Head Hawkmoth, 2016, honeycomb, beeswax, steel, brass, 5 x 2 x 1 in.

How do you describe your work or practice in 50 words or less?
I make wearable mementos from remains, such as bones and insect wings, to honor and grieve the loss of our nonhuman counterparts. Similar to historic mourning rituals, amulets, and relics, I explore the agency of jewelry as curative devices that instill empathy and interconnectivity.

What’s the biggest adjustment you’ve had to make because of the COVID-19 breakout, personally or professionally?
The biggest adjustment has definitely been teaching metals classes online, though I feel lucky to be able to continue through the pandemic. It has presented some very difficult challenges but is also resulting in interesting project prompts and responses to those projects.

What’s your favorite social media post you’ve seen recently?
Any Instagram post by Leslie Jordan. He’s hilarious and so wholesome.

What’s an exhibition project you think the world should know about?
JV Collective is continuing to plan for "In School Suspension", which was supposed to take place during the Society of North American Goldsmith's conference in Philadelphia. The application deadline has been extended to August 1. And, Gallery Loupe is launching an online exhibition on on April 30 that I will be a part of.

What research or writing are you doing, or seeing others do, that you find compelling?
I’ve been researching black holes as well as magical objects and the powers attributed to them – this expansive idea that is hard to grasp and almost beyond comprehension versus tactile objects that we can hold and inspect. Both contain a sense of the unknown.

What podcast should we be listening to right now?
Perceived Value with Sarah Rachel Brown, who fearlessly talks about the subject we avoid – money – by interviewing artists about how they make a living. Material Matters is a great one. If you like true crime, you have to know about Last Podcast on the Left.

 

What book should we be reading or paying attention to right now?
I’m about to read Fewer Better Things by Glenn Adamson, who recently did a live interview with The Clay Studio speaking about the book. His thoughts on empathy within materials really struck a chord with me.

If you could purchase any artist's craft work for your home or studio, whose would it be and why?
Oh, there are so many... for my home I would love to own a piece by Thomas Campbell. The forms he makes are so striking and familiar. I’d also love to collect the works of Shinji Nakaba, Märta Mattsson, and Julia Maria Künnap, just to name a few!

Are you binge-watching anything right now?
I’ve mostly been watching movies lately. The other night I watched Interstellar, which had me lost in the idea of black holes, the micro and macro, and our fragile existence in this little globe within a vast universe. Also, as many Disney movies as possible.

Want to hear more from Luci?

Listen to her Emerging Voices object story.

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