www.hebakandil.ca

Recipient of the Lacy and Co. Ltd. Jewellery Supply Grant

Heba Kandil is an art jeweller and a recent graduate from OCAD University’s Jewellery and Metalsmithing program. She finished her Bachelor of Design with an award winning thesis and curated a national student exhibition, Opine, which was part of TIJF and the SNAG conference, Meta-Mosaic in 2013. She has had the opportunity to work for two well-established and acclaimed jewellers, Gillian Batcher and Shao-pin Chu, and was awarded the summer residency at Harbourfront Centre’s Metal Studio in the summer of 2012.

Currently, Heba’s body of work explores the sphere between body adornment and art objects, dialogue, and socio-political affairs. Inspired by Islamic geometry, technical exploration and design sensibilities, her one-of-a-kind work is a constant exploration into the relationship between the maker, wearer and viewer. Inspired by her Egyptian heritage, storytelling is used as a universally accessible forum for sharing ideas. Using the strength that body adornment has to integrate the viewer into the narrative, Heba constructs objects that transform to allow the wearer to adorn the ideas. Through this transformation a platform is created where new dialogues can occur and an active engagement provides a more meaningful connection to the art jewellery.