X Today, everyone expects to be famous. And not just for 15 minutes. Since fame equals beauty and either seems to be an end unto itself, all you need is the Celebrity Glow Compact. Upon opening, you’re showered with paparazzi flashes and can’t help feel anything less than a superstar. Actual cosmetics and red carpet not included.

X Ironically, the promises of the beauty industry never fade, unlike beauty itself. And the constant array of products is both captivating and absurd. For the Worry Beads for Beauty neckpiece, I chose plastic bags and elastics as the quintessence of physical beauty – delicate, unstable and prone to sag over time. As a collar, the work envelops you with the scents of more than a hundred products and literally exudes a faint aura of cosmetic products.

X We all seem to obsess over money. And worldwide we rub our fingers together to indicate “cash”, “dough” or “quid.” With A Worry Bead for Wealth (or How to Manage When Money’s On Your Mind), you can tidily tuck the coin into your trousers, coat pocket or bag and rub your anxieties directly onto the coin’s fading face.

X Clinging to our identity narratives, we wear clothing, jewellery and fashions that tell our stories to each other. The ‘Everything All at Once’ series uses fictional quotes to suggest the wearer and history of tangled suite of jewellery. I’ve exploited the magnetism of cheap, mass-produced jewellery so each tangle will cling to you.

X Not subtle, but then sex appeal is rarely subtle. Most people can’t read these lips, simply because they’re only visible from just the right angle. So if you do catch sight, they’ve clearly caught you.

X Contemporary urban society seems no place for a primitive fetish like a talisman. But in fact we carry items with us everyday that we believe unconsciously, through habitual use, will make us more than what we are.  This neckpiece harnesses the transformative potential of beauty magazines through a cosmetic brush that can, when used to caress any part of you that might be less than perfect, render you as beautiful, stylish or effortlessly chic as a fashion model.

X As a talisman, this string of pearls from beauty magazines must be burned before its transformative power is released. Once the graduated pearls are burnt black like kohl, the neckpiece will mark you with patterns unleashing your own metamorphosis.

X In bangle form, these beauty talismans remind the wearer of the perpetual promise of transformation.