Ko Jou Chen

My master’s project explores how the making of miniature objects and floating altar-like displays can express memory, collection, and the domestic in transition. Motivated by the instability of diasporic living and continual relocation, I construct handmade floating altars as portable supports that carry memory and presence across my shifting environments. The miniature objects, inspired by my personal collection of sentimental items, are reinterpreted through hand fabrication as sculptural carriers of memory. The project integrates works made from both the refined technique of soldering metals and the modest materiality of balsa wood, bringing these elements together to interrogate hierarchies of material and the role of collecting. In doing so, it positions collection not as preservation, but as a process of longing for permanence.

Ko Jou Chen is a Taiwanese artist based in Naarm/Melbourne whose practice includes contemporary jewellery, object-making, and spatial installation. Her work explores materiality, memory, and the quiet rituals of domestic space. Through making and display, she reflects on how objects can hold stillness, comfort, and presence within the shifting spaces she inhabits.

Chen holds a Bachelor of Fine Art from RMIT University and an Advanced Diploma of Jewellery and Object Design from Melbourne Polytechnic. She received The Future Leaders Award at Fresh! (Craft Victoria, 2024) and the JMGA Award at Graduate Metal XVI (JMGA, 2024).