Rui An

About

Studied Virtual Fashion at Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology before pursuing Jewellery and Metal at the Royal College of Art. Focuses on uncovering meaningful elements hidden in daily life, personal emotions, and lived experiences. Explores the use of unconventional materials to create jewelry that fosters interaction and engagement for the wearer.

This project explores the concept of liminal space—those ambiguous zones that exist between clearly defined times, places, or mental states. The title, Between States, carries a dual meaning: it refers both to the conceptual theme of being “in-between,” and to my own experience of living “between two countries” during my time abroad.
Although the term liminal space may sound unfamiliar, it is everywhere around us: corridors, stairwells, bridges, hotel rooms, twilight, waiting areas—even the gap between graduation and employment. On a deeper level, moments when we shift between wakefulness and dreaming, or between self and external world, also constitute liminal experiences. This project is rooted in my emotional responses to such moments, and seeks to evoke resonance and reflection in viewers and wearers alike.
To embody this theme, many of the pieces incorporate movable structures—such as ball bearings, sliders, magnets, and hinges—which allow them to exist in a state of continual transformation through interaction with the wearer and their surroundings. These mechanical elements coexist with handmade textures, reinforcing the design language of being “between states.” The movements vary across pieces: some follow irregular patterns, others allow only subtle shifts, while a few perform endless circular motions. Together, they represent the instability and diversity of liminal states—some chaotic, others oddly comforting.
All works are made with colorless or transparent materials, designed to reflect, refract, or obscure their environment. Lenses, acrylic sheets, and glass spheres distort and reconstruct familiar surroundings, disrupting visual expectations. Mirrors and metallic spheres reflect the wearer’s image—sometimes clear, sometimes blurred—inviting a reconsideration of the self. Materials like organza and crystal obscure the wearer’s vision entirely, suggesting the limits of perception and our inability to fully grasp everything around us.
Each piece is intentionally fragmented and confined in scale, offering only partial, collaged glimpses of reality. This fractured way of seeing mirrors the nature of liminal spaces themselves—never complete, but rich in immediacy and sensory tension. Through these methods, I aim not only to create visual intrigue, but also to build a personal and experiential sense of “in-betweenness.”