As a silversmith working in the 21st century, Shinta Nakajima seeks to confront the question: ‘Why do we decorate?’ 

Ornamentation is one of the ways of expressing the truth of the world for the craftsmen. We sympathise with the organic and inorganic, through a language of making. 

However, through centuries of application this ancient figurative ornamentation has been diluted of its mysterious power.  

As Carl Jung said, “The symbol is alive only so long as it is pregnant with meaning”: the old truth has been formulated, pressed into partial decoration with curves and details that differ from its original nature. I intend to reinterpret and revive the historical significance and forgotten truths of humanity, now buried beneath the layers of time.