Karel Haans

Is it possible to embody life's contradictions with figurative jewellery? 
And could that also be made wearable? 
Crafted from metal so that it might connect generations in a way that exceeds language? 
Intimate, infused with humour, detailed wonder, and if you would allow it, heartfelt?

Yes, that seemed precisely like something I wanted to do. However, if the Karel of the past had been told that I would come to realise that idea, he would not have believed it.

In January, after months of experimentation, my supervising practical teacher asked me matter-of-factly, ‘But what is it that you really want to make?’
I picked up three things I had made in the past months, held them together, and said, ‘If I could combine the three, it would be exactly what I want...’

The first piece was of enamelled copper, on which I had engraved a little flower. I found the material to be of such wonderous quality. I often stared at it, falling in love with the ungraspable amount of detail, trapped behind a layer of glass.
Then I picked up a copper figure I had cast in wood and had given a plastic arm. Little wanker.
The two I held it next to a watercolour painting of a naked blind man on a horse, who, with his penis in the wind, was defying life.

I was referring to figurative jewellery that communicates difficult-to-articulate concepts through body language. 

During the graduation period, I had more time to let the project flourish.
Allowing myself to experiment, play and discover, fail, fail and succeed.

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Naked-Butt is a series of rings that explore the body as a vessel for memory, emotion, and contradiction. Each piece begins with Karel using his own body as both tool and archive, tracing gestures shaped by experiences that are felt more than understood.
The process begins with photography, language, and drawing, then moves into moulding aluminium foil—intuitively shaping what lingers beneath the surface. These forms are further developed in virtual reality, where Karel sculpts life-size scenes through Full-body movement.

The resulting jewellery is never abstract. Each ring is a figurative sculpture in miniature, rooted in lived experience. They celebrate not the flawless, but the deeply human: how we stumble, contradict ourselves, hide things, or reveal too much. How we live with discomfort, vulnerability, and sometimes darker truths.

The tides—Smoel, Oetlul, Hanglul, Onhandig, Tijd, Overstemmen—are intentionally raw. They rub against the visual confidence of the forms, complicating first impressions and revealing deeper tensions. These pieces don't decorate. They confront, question, and quietly stay with you. Naked-Butt is not a conventional jewellery collection, but a series of embodied experiences cast in metal—a way of wearing what we carry.

Photography by Pelle van Loon

Graduation of Product Design Arnhem 2025 - System Error