Noon Passama
At the core of Noon’s practice is a continual reworking of jewellery archetypes, such as the chain and linking elements that underlie the discipline. With each element sculpted and connected, the shapes are informed by time and serenity.
How did your journey to jewellery begin? Was there a clear moment when you realised this is what you wanted to do?
I became interested in jewellery making during my Bachelor studies in Thailand. After graduating in industrial design, I worked for about a year and a half as a graphic designer. During that time, one of my bosses, Metta Tantisajjatham, who is a fashion designer, asked me to make necklaces for her show. The experience of working on that collection confirmed for me that this was the path I wanted to explore further. I decided to study the subject with the initial intention of creating jewellery that is meaningful and contextual, and of developing my own approach to the field.
What are your inspirations?
Nothing too specific. I enjoy visiting archaeological and anthropological museums, going to zoos, and walking with my dog, Moon. My latest project, which is based on the Thai and Chinese zodiacs, actually began with the desire to include Moon in the series.
In general I’m quite down about creativity these days, because so much is screen / digitally based. Surface literally triumphs over substance! I think this takes a big toll on creative people because the work they often pour all their power and energy into is rendered in some way meaningless because when you turn off the screen, it simply no longer exists. But work like yours restores my faith: I see all the ‘old’ attributes there: craftsmanship, meticulous attention to detail, knowledge of material, narrative, timelessness, awareness of what went before, originality, material beauty, the mark of the hand. What are your thoughts on technology today in the creative / artistic realm?
I both like and dislike experiencing creative works on a screen. Digital platforms allow me to discover other people’s work, connect with collaborators, and be discovered myself. But when I feel unproductive, an endless stream of impressive work on my Instagram feed can intensify that feeling.
As a jewellery maker, I can imagine how objects seen on a screen might feel in real life, at least to some extent. Many skilled image makers represent craft objects beautifully through their visual abilities. It makes me think that this could be an interesting subject to explore: how can a sense of tactility be experienced digitally?
At the moment, I sense that people are increasingly longing for in-person experiences. The past few years, during and after the pandemic, seem to have made online engagement feel a bit oversaturated. Jewellery involves deeply personal and emotional choices, as well as its material, feel and tactility. The best place for it is of course to be worn in real life.
The shapes of the linking elements you use in your pieces and the way they are implemented is quite distinctive. What draws you to these forms?
The way things take shape in my work is actually quite unplanned. I usually begin with a lump of sculpting material and no fixed idea of what I want to make, allowing myself to think through my hands. In my earlier works, I wanted to create forms that did not immediately suggest anything familiar, leaving plenty of space for interpretation.
The current collection, which relates to the twelve zodiac beings, sits somewhere between recognisable and not. When I visit museums and look at historical objects that depict creatures, I often have to think carefully about what they represent before reading the labels, especially the very minimal and abstract jade dragon carvings. This experience influenced how I approached my own pieces.
I do not want the connection to a creature to be obvious, like a necklace that clearly looks like a monkey. I prefer something more subtle, something that carries a sense of if you know you know. Sometimes the wearer may be the only one who understands what the piece represents.
For your latest exhibition OTHERSELVES, your work integrates beautifully detailed illustrations of animals by the artist Suthipa Kamyam, made miniature and carved into rock crystal by Detelina Ivanova. I love the contrasts here, of soft flesh and fur captured on ice-like crystal, of transience and delicacy presented on this seeming immutable material. Could you tell us a little bit about this collaboration? What do you wish to say with these pieces? Why did you choose to feature these creatures? Are you referring to any artistic tradition with the presentation of these images within the pieces?
I got to know Suthipa’s work through mutual friends. In 2019, I asked her to make drawings of Moon wearing a necklace I had made. Since then, I have wanted to collaborate with her again. In 2022, I took a gemmology course, which drew me to gemstones and sparked my interest in the intaglio technique. That was when I discovered the mind-blowing work of Detelina Ivanova on Instagram.
I had an idea to create something more figurative. With the wish to work with Suthipa again and the desire to incorporate Detelina’s engraving technique, I looked for a subject that could bring all our hands together. Zodiac animals often appear in jewellery, usually as mass-produced trinkets. They are sometimes dismissed as gimmicks, yet their widespread appeal creates global recognition and personal associations with these symbols.
By recognising symbolic and metaphysical ways of relating to animals, my project explores the human-animal connection through personal adornment. It uses a collaborative approach to transform layered ideas into wearable pieces that contextualise zodiac animals and offer an intuitive way to recognise animals as kin, explore personal and cultural identity, and for some people, find emotional and spiritual grounding.
Aside from the conceptual aspect, I also enjoy the process of translation from drawing to stone to jewellery. The tools, techniques and shared hand labour create a link between the three of us as makers.
Do you have a material you love to work with above all others?
For several years I have been drawn to shaping things by hand, so malleable materials like modelling clay naturally interest me. In the past, I finished my works using materials that might be considered unconventional for jewellery, but now I find myself challenged by very traditional materials such as silver. Working with a core jewellery material raises a question for me: how can silver be made interesting in a world already full of silver jewellery and with such a long history behind it?
What you enjoy or benefit from moving between Thailand and the Netherlands?
I used to enjoy traveling to Thailand before 2019, the year I got Moon. Since mid-2019, I have not been able to visit because I developed separation anxiety about leaving Moon behind. Back when I could travel to Thailand whenever I wanted and stay for a while, I had the freedom to explore different production techniques and access a wide variety of materials that were either unavailable or very expensive in the Netherlands. Staying in Thailand for a few months at a time also allowed me to apply different techniques to a single piece more easily, as I could handle everything myself while also enjoying time with my family and friends.
Recently, I have realised that this situation has both advantages and disadvantages, and I have adapted by exploring production and material possibilities locally within the Netherlands and the EU. I have also discovered that I am good at managing projects remotely, from creating works to collaborating with others. I have completed many collaborative projects with people I had never met in person during the process. The current project presented in the OTHERSELVES exhibition is one of them. I met Suthipa Kamyam and Detelina Ivanova for the first time only at the show opening. The three of us create our works entirely by hand, yet we first connected digitally. When people think about craft-oriented collaboration, they often imagine makers working together in the same space, but it can also be done beautifully in the way I worked with Suthipa and Detelina.
What does Thailand mean to you today?
Best friends, family and home!
Thank you to Noon for taking the time to give us a little more insight into her wonderful work!
She is currently showing at the Museum Arnhem with her exhibition OTHERSELVES, on until the 1st February 2026.
And for more from Noon, her website is here and her IG is here.
Photography by : Kittitorn Kasemkitwatana & Vachira Charoenrat,
WIP photography by: Ten Fingers
