Sint Lucas Masters 2024-2025
The tension of a form

The tension of a form

Zaina Benhamou

Jewelry Context  2024-2025

The body is fundamental in both sport and jewelry. The work explores form, tension, and patterns, and finds—by combining two worlds—a reconciliation that reaches beyond the tangible. With a focus on the body as object, and children growing up in a world built for adults, where hierarchy demands ultimate grace at the cost of one’s own essence. As a former elite gymnast, I use artistic gymnastics as inspiration to shape my vision of the world — an invitation to converse with one another, and with the body itself.

My work begins with the body — specifically that of the gymnast — as object, medium, and field of tension. I explore physical tension: how it is created, how it lives within the body, and how it can be visually and emotionally evoked. Think of a medal with a crack, or a theatre curtain symbolizing a performance whose outcome is still unknown. The gymnast becomes an exhibition: a body shown, judged, and shaped into ultimate grace, often at the cost of its own essence. As a former elite gymnast, I reflect on this experience and connect it with my training in jewellery art, where I learned the value of the body and how to translate ideas into material. By combining jewellery, video, and performance, a dialogue emerges between body, tension, and object. My work invites a conversation about what is visible and what remains hidden — about control, expectation, and the fragile line between strength and fragility.