Peter Chang Design

Style

Chang's Chinese heritage significantly influenced his artistic style. During the 1970s, while

living in his hometown of Liverpool, he sourced many materials from shops in Liverpool's

Chinatown. The vibrant red and yellow colors prevalent in that community often appear in his

work, inspiring his designs. This is evident in the ornate decorations, bright hues, vivid

patterns, and uniquely shaped protrusions on his bracelets. The playful, childlike aesthetic

resembles a toy, appealing to a younger audience drawn to contemporary design.

The main body of Chang’s 2004 bracelet is crafted from plastic, a modern material not

typically associated with jewelry design. This choice, combined with the piece's unusual

shape, creates a futuristic style influenced by science fiction, as seen in the alien-like ornate

forms.

Additionally, Chang was deeply inspired by the Pop Art movement and the culture thriving in

Britain during his youth in Liverpool in the 1960s. This movement brought forth a shift from

traditional good taste to vivid imagery and bright colors, as exemplified in his bracelet design.

Chang's work embodies a decorative, sensory, and humorous approach to objects, employing

exaggerated color, pattern, and form. He viewed himself primarily as a visual artist seeking to

blend sculpture with wearable jewelry, always infusing fantasy into his creations—think Star

Wars with a hint of mythological beasts, or lizard skin adorned with leopard spots. “Object-

making is a non-verbal attempt at balancing the intellect with the intuitive,” he explain

Function/Fitness for Purpose

The primary function of Chang’s bracelet is to be worn as an accessory, adorning the wrist of

the wearer. The use of recyclable materials and bright plastics in the piece offers a unique

take on jewelry design, making it visually striking and reflective of the wearer's style.

The secondary function of the bracelet is to contribute to a jewelry collection. Its large scale

and sculptural appendages exhibit an appreciation for art and design. Chang's one-of-a-kind

pieces appeal to collectors, and their intended use may not always be for wear, potentially

increasing their value.

Chang considered the comfort of the wearer when designing this piece. The bracelet's

diameter is quite large, and its inner form is polished and smooth, allowing it to sit loosely on

the wrist. This design also enables the user to easily slip it on and off. Despite its size, the

bracelet feels lightweight due to Chang's use of a foam base, enhancing comfort for

prolonged wear.

Materials and Techniques (Including Working Methods)

Although some of Chang's jewelry pieces are relatively large, they are surprisingly lightweight.

The main body of this design encases a polyurethane foam base in polyester resin, reinforced

with glass fiber strands. This choice of material not only contributes to the piece's lightness

but also allows for easier cutting, carving, and manipulation into organic forms, enhancing

wearability.

Chang explored color combinations and their symbolism in nature, employing various

methods to achieve bright colors and unusual shapes. He layered acrylic over his pieces to

introduce vivid hues and used heat to mold it into form.

He meticulously covered surfaces using mosaic and lacquer techniques, facetting and placing

tiny pieces of colored acrylic to create intricate patterns reminiscent of stained glass, adding

texture and visual interest to his eye-catching designs.

The protruding elements of the 2004 bracelet are crafted from recycled plastics; for

instance, plastic map pinheads emerge from the appendages, and plastic beads adorn the

outer body. By utilizing recycled materials, Chang reduces the environmental impact of his

designs. He transforms everyday throwaway materials such as acrylic, polyester resin, and

PVC into something extraordinary, drawing inspiration from both the natural world and the

urban environment.

When most think of jewelry, gold or diamonds come to mind, but Chang's raw materials are

distinct: commonplace plastic off-cuts, worn toothbrushes, old felt-tip pens, broken rulers,

and razors—anything acrylic was fair game. During the 1970s in Liverpool, he sourced much of

this from Chinatown, where the popular colors of red and yellow often influenced his work.

Chang frequently repurposed old signage from Chinatown for projects such as sculptures and

jewelry, nurturing his fascination with recycled materials, a theme he continued to explore

throughout his career. This approach also meant working with colors favored by local

business owners, hence the prominence of red and yellow in his designs

Visual Impact

Chang's jewelry creations are characterized by their unorthodox, extravagant, and witty

nature, with high-voltage color as his signature. His pieces are large, flamboyant, stylish, and

post-modern, whereas Chang himself was quiet, unobtrusive, and a hard-working, shy genius

—his smaller pieces took up to 400 hours to create.

In the design of the 2004 bracelet, Chang aimed for a powerful visual impact by blending

themes of sci-fi and marine life. This is evident in the diverse appendages, ranging from clear

tentacle-like forms to unusual alien-like shapes. The hybrid use of themes contributes to the

design's uniqueness and memorability.

The combination of bright colors, patterns, and unusual shapes in the main body of his design

creates a striking aesthetic where the elements almost clash, resulting in a dramatic visual

effect. The twisting forms attached to the bracelet evoke an alien-like appearance, enhancing

its eye-catching nature.

Chang chose plastic for its ability to reflect contemporary culture and its throwaway nature,

as opposed to materials like wood or silver, which impose their own character. Plastic is

anonymous and can be molded and sculpted into surreal, elegant, yet whimsical objects

Target Market/Audience

Chang’s 2004 bracelet, crafted by hand using a variety of intricate techniques, took over 246

hours to complete, making it expensive to produce and purchase. The precision of the

geometric shapes around the piece's outer area reflects this attention to detail, targeting a

wealthy clientele.

The bold and dramatic nature of the 2004 bracelet, characterized by bright colors, patterns,

and unusual shapes, will likely appeal to individuals with outgoing and artistic personalities

who enjoy standing out and being noticed.

Every piece of jewelry was handcrafted by Chang from the material-sourcing stage to the final

finishing touches. The extensive time and skill involved in creating the 2004 bracelet render it

a luxury item, attracting buyers with high disposable incomes.

This bracelet not only signifies wealth but also reflects a taste for high-end, cult design. It is

designed for individuals—both men and women—possessing a distinct and unusual sense of

style, seeking something unique to make a statement. The 2004 bracelet's bold and dramatic

design, with its strikingly clashing elements, appeals to those who embrace individuality and

artistic expression.

Cultural, Social, and Other Influences

Peter Chang (1944–2017) was a British artist celebrated for his distinctive jewelry. A self-

taught jewelry-maker, he studied sculpture and graphic design. The influence of his artistic

training is evident in the sculptural quality of his oversized bracelets and his use of bold

colors, often featuring clear-cut graphic patterns.

Chang began creating jewelry in the late 1970s, a period heavily influenced by the first moon

landing and space exploration. This cultural backdrop inspired him to incorporate sci-fi

elements into his work, as seen in his Unnatural Selection collection, where appendages

resemble futuristic alien life forms that one might discover as an astronaut.

His English and Chinese heritage allowed him to draw from both Western and Eastern

cultures. His Oriental ancestry is reflected in his love for decoration, pattern, vibrant colors,

exotic shapes, and lacquer work, while Western influences manifest in his fascination with sci-

fi and pop culture. Additionally, Chang was exposed to surrealist art and design while working

with Stanley William Hayter, an influence that permeates his work through unusual shapes,

intricate details, and contrasting color combinations.

After earning a degree in art and graphic design from Liverpool (1963-66), Chang moved to

Paris to study printmaking at the renowned Hayter Printmaking Atelier, followed by a

postgraduate degree in sculpture and printmaking at The Slade, University College, London. It

wasn't until the late 1970s, after years of working on sculptural projects and furniture design,

that he turned to jewelry, initially crafting earrings for his wife.

While Chang's materials were modern and his creations avant-garde, his skills were rooted in

ancient, painstaking techniques. Transforming tiny fragments of brightly colored acrylic into

intricate, immaculate brooches or bangles—whose surfaces evoke amorphous marine life

adorned with fins, horns, or pompoms—was labor-intensive and, at times, dangerous. He

preferred manual methods, using planes, rasps, needle files, sandpaper, and polish for greater

control. However, the layers of resin he built up over the years, combined with exposure to

fumes before the widespread use of masks, severely affected his lungs, a tragic consequence

of his remarkable artistry.

Peter Chang's work has been featured at auction multiple times, with realized prices ranging

from $1,896 to $12,394, depending on the size and medium. Since 2020, the highest auction

price for this artist has been $12,394 for a bracelet sold at Lyon & Turnbull in London in 2022.