Secondary Function Exhibition

Since the 1980s, de-functionalization has emerged as a cross-disciplinary resistance against normative systems, with artists often abandoning utility for spiritual or conceptual aims. Yet in applied arts, function holds a deeper, lasting bond—constantly shifting between the centre and the periphery of discourse. As decoding unfolds, function evolves from a matter of use to one of agency, shaping how actions are organised. This exhibition explores the vitality of function in contemporary practice: as a strategy to challenge visual centrism and invite multisensory engagement. After function withdraws—how does it return? It is a pleasure to introduce Secondary Function, an exhibition that captures the inventive spirit and critical curiosity at the heart of contemporary craft and design. As Head of the Silversmithing and Jewellery Department at The Glasgow School of Art, I am delighted to see our graduates and artists in residence contributing to this ambitious project within the London Design Festival. The provocation at the core of this exhibition—how function returns once it has been set aside—resonates deeply with our field. Jewellery and object-making continually navigate the tension between utility and expression, intimacy and spectacle, materiality and meaning. In this balance, function is never simply present or absent, but rather transformed into a language through which new narratives and experiences emerge. The works in Secondary Function demonstrate the imagination, skill, and reflective practice that define our community at GSA. By rethinking what it means for objects to serve, perform, or connect, these artists ask vital questions about the role of craft in shaping social and cultural dialogues today. I congratulate all the participants and look forward to the conversations their work will inspire. —Anna Gordon, Head of Department and Programme Leader, BA (hons) Silversmithing and Jewellery Design at the Glasgow School of Art Programme Director: Alice Fan Shi Curatorial Director: Yanru Hu Executive Manager: Yiru Zhang Curators: Caiyang Yin, Xuan Xu, Yating Xie Organiser: Alsolike Gallery Academic Support: Silversmithing and Jewellery Design at the Glasgow School of Art, Tajo Studio Key Features: Hiroki Nakayama A New York–based Japanese designer. After working on new business development in one of the largest manufacturer, he began his career in product design. His practice focuses not on design as a solution—such as improving function or aesthetics—but on reframing the role and value axes of products to enrich future daily life. His approach emphasizes innovation through creating new axes of value, while also engaging with primitive and essential questions: how we relate to products through physically and psychologically. Through the intersection of these perspectives, he seeks to create designs that may become the new universals of the future. His design practice spans across various domains — from interior lighting and robotics to lifestyle devices—and his work has been recognized both in Japan and internationally, including exhibitions such as Milano Salone Satellite, Paris Design Week, and some design awards. Shane Shi Yan Shane is a China-based jewellery artist with a background in industrial and product design, and a graduate of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Drawn to self-expression and wearable art, Shane has developed a practice that moves between traditional and contemporary directions. The work engages with Eastern cultural contexts through ethnographic studies of identity, ritual, and craft, including research into Miao and Dong communities as well as Tibetan Buddhist practices. Collective Intimidation was featured on the cover of YOUTH VISION; Eight Sand Swallow has been exhibited in Beijing and Chengdu; and Spoon.Sword.Mirror was shown at Gong Gallery, accompanied by an interview. Shane has also contributed as a volunteer with the Hong Kong Children’s Foundation.