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Marina Elenskaya is the co-founder and the creative director of Current Obsession — a magazine and platform based in the Netherlands. She directs Jewellery in Culture Foundation, Munich Jewellery Week, OBSESSED! Jewellery Festival and other projects by Current Obsession.

In this lecture, Elenskaya will discuss the past ten years of her practice as the co-founder and creative director of Current Obsession, touching upon the most significant projects and ideas that have driven the platform.

Starting from a simple idea of creating a jewellery magazine to stand on a shelf next to fashion, design and architecture publications, to looking at the urgent world matters through the lens of jewellery  — as one of the most fundamental art forms accompanying human existence. For the past decade Current Obsession has aimed to raise questions of identity, community, heritage, belonging, and the decolonisation of knowledge about jewellery.

Elenskaya visits Aotearoa from Amsterdam. Her current practice combines her training in television and radio direction, jewellery design, and design research, writing and criticism — blending her interests in storytelling, curating and interdisciplinary collaboration.

At Current Obsession, she researches adornment — jewellery, fashion artefacts, AR face filters, makeup, body modifications, as key cultural and personal signifiers. For the past ten years, she has been involved in developing experimental and interdisciplinary discourse in contemporary jewellery, publishing and facilitating opportunities for designers.

Despite her current practice away from the workbench, she still considers herself a maker, with deep understanding and passion for fabrication processes, techniques and materials — involved in both physical and digital jewellery-making.

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Marina Elenskaya visits Aotearoa through support from Objectspace and Creative New Zealand. Find out more about her visit here. 

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The Ockham Lecture series is an annual programme of lectures and panel discussions across different themes that critically engage with craft, design and architecture. This programme is supported by Objectspace's Lead Partner Ockham Residential.