Inner Stories : Identity and Value

Abstract: Nothing is neutral, all things we create narrate. Manufactured objects enforce and support mythology and ritual, willingly or unwillingly. In this thesis I have been investigating how we structure reality and identification through narration. The approach ties in cultural anthropology and psychology. I have looked at how craft can support and embody values through the relationship of narration and reinforcement that it has with mythology and in turn with our inner stories. As such the thesis relates to both the collective and personal and attempts to raise questions about the original purpose of body related items, craft and art. My research has led me to believe that the purpose of the first items of craft and jewellery was to maintain the community. To maintain it through the mythologization of the environment and the world, creating the consensus needed for living as larger groups. In drawing my conclusions regarding jewellery and objects of craft I have tried to open the discussion within the field up to include the limited yet existing knowledge we have about our prehistoric heritage in Europe. Prehistory ends with the invention of writing systems through symbols. In this essay I have tied in the relevance of seeing jewellery and corpus as symbols and how these can aids us in the process of identification and personal growth. I have also considered the global overview we have access to today and I present jewellery and craft objects as potential anchor points or compasses on the increasingly vast ocean of values that the global perspective offers.