YOYO YE
Yoyo Ye
The Rose
2026, bronze, 50 x 45 x 20 mm
Photography by Chris Bowes.
ARTIST STATEMENT
YOYO YE
Inspired by the rose in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince, this work explores ideas of love, attachment, and the value we assign to objects. A hand-carved wax rose is cast in bronze alongside cast rock forms, creating a contrast between the delicacy of the flower and the permanence of stone.
Bronze was chosen in place of silver due to the rising cost of precious metals. This material decision also questions conventional ideas of value, suggesting that an object’s significance can come not from its material worth, but from the sentimental value we assign to it.
PROFILE
Yoyo Ye is a Melbourne-based emerging contemporary jeweller and object maker with a background in drawing and painting. Transitioning from 2D to 3D, she found a stronger connection through physically realising ideas beyond the canvas. Her practice incorporates precious and base metals, alongside found personal objects. She works with techniques including cloisonné enamelling, valued for its structural and visual qualities, and lost-wax casting to create organic forms. Inspired by relationships with friends and family, her work often features floral motifs, exploring their ephemeral nature through the permanence of metal, highlighting the tension between fragility and durability.
