I actually was very lucky and got to visit the church in Jan 2011. Even before then, I already felt strongly about it. The building is in fact a sculptural journey. It is incredible. The attention to detail and intended narrative is overwhelming. Everything seems natural and spontaneous nothing is forced or imposed.
This building is emotionally charged. The contours of every stone, every pillar, every figure, depicts some sort of yearning, a burning desire to achieve the Devine. When inside or

breaking waves by Lars Von Trier:

I first saw this movie many years ago. I loved it. I was so intrigued by what was happening to the main character, how things were turning out. I probably didn't know the rest of Von trier's work and couldn't make any connections or understand what I was seeing in context. This film, like most of his work is about generosity and arrogance. Understanding generosity is the main goal, so he created this recurrent character that gives unconditionally. It’s most likely an understatement to write that this film is emotionally charged. The ability the main character has to give herself to fate and her husband's requests is simultaneously weak and powerful. The film touches on subjects of love, generosity, kindness and religion. Because of the narrative power of movies, it's possibly one of the examples most easier to put under the human condition umbrella.

the waves by Virginia woolf:

I love VW and have read a bio on her. Women will always be my true love! The waves is a book about identity. I read it to serve as concept for my last college work in Sydney. The structure of the book is quite curious, it's all written as if the main 7 characters were speaking/thinking and this narrative is interrupted by short descriptions of a costal landscape. One of the things that really got me with this book was the way it was written, the most beautiful words are carefully placed next to each other, creating the most incredible sentences. The book proposes the idea that our identity isn't a singular reality but rather the accumulation of our perception of ourselves and the perception others have of us, as well as our surroundings, the chairs we sit on, the curtains that shelter us from sun light. Like movies, books have similarly an incredible narrative power, so the human condition can be explored more clearly. On the other hand this particular book, is in fact not that narrative, instead it pays more attention and time to allow the characters, even if cryptically, to describe their thoughts. To me it describes the human condition not only because it speaks of identity but also because it allows the reader into the emotional turmoil of the characters, they’re doubts and uncertainties, theirs appreciations and conclusions. It portrays humans and all around them in a figurative way rather then literal, it cuts loose from the standard requirements for actual reality, the elements in it come to life not only in themselves but particularly when juxtaposed to others round them. It’s this painting like quality that attracts me, the only half understood event, only half understood person, only half understood feeling.

alexander mcqueen:

McQueen was an incredible fashion designer. His catwalk shows were at times art performances in themselves, but the clothes were always more amazing. There was always a story telling exercise, the clothes were always presented in a context (makeup, accessories, catwalk), which further enhanced the story or message we were being told. The clothes were romantic and beautiful, extraordinary cuts, brilliant embroidery. Often Japanese inspired themes, often dark themes, dark ideas, often the appropriation of the commonly perceived ugly, always and the poetic. The ability to make a flat material such as fabric move as if intentionally is by no exaggeration an incredible achievement. The ability for that same fabric to delineate the body and to perfect the movement of walking, standing and spinning is mesmerizing. To retrieve and appropriate that material with elegance is always outstanding. The human condition was always addressed with McQueen because of the sheer volume of emotional substance; it was always evident that it wasn't just fabric dancing round, but the curtain that unveils one's true spirit and soul. Sometimes we got to see serene landscapes of innocence, other times, old disturbed painful memories.

vespertine by bjork:

This was the album that became by circumstance and chance the album of my life. Such things can never just come into being because of the brilliance of the work (and it is brilliant!) but by a conglomerate of specific factors at a particular point in time. Vespertine is a beautiful landscape of sound, there's micro-beats, orchestra, choirs and of course Bjork’s voice. I need to go straight to the point otherwise will end up writing forever. The album talks about love and about all of these emotions and feelings, which are incredibly private and intimate. It talks about them in a tremendously generous and honest way, both via lyrics and actual sound. It’s poetic and romantic and feminine and powerful. It is complex and layered, carefully composed, carefully arranged. It’s raw and without farce. It’s pure and innocent but it's not naive. It exposes inner parts and inner functions while fully aware.

on death by joao Vaz:

This was a 2nd year project at tafe. The previous work I had done was very light mooded and I wanted to really look into something dark and difficult to manage. Nothing could better suit that category than death. I studied the subject and reflected on what most horrified me about the event. After arriving at some conclusions decided on what I was going to focus on. The final work is visually dark and to a degree disconcerting. All of the work involves some sort of restraint and prohibition. It’s monochromatic. It’s alive; it asks questions to the viewer and even more, to the wearer.

Because of how this range is coming about (me not being that happy with the last one) and because it might be the last range i ever do, i wanted to have a story that represented well what was relevant to me.

this was when i thought about the 1920's.

coincidently, it was the 1920's that served as inspiration when i was working on the project the only one. for me it's of irrevocable importance that i go back to that same bench of inspirational images because, time and time again, i look at the ring i did for that project as the quintessential Joao vaz jewellery. the different materials, the different techniques, the complex structure, the way i went about making it.

that was the time in my life when i was arrogant and couldn't care less about what my teachers thought. that arrogance i guess was both a shield and a major weakness. it protected involuntarily my sense of style and what might constitute my uniqueness, and at the same time, made me blind to good technical advice.

one of the problems with school is that they give you a brief, the fuckers should keep the briefs for themselves and let us do the thinking. I used to do the thinking and would ignore whatever i was told. it was easy because i was so arrogant at the time, thought i knew everything. then i moved to Sydney and thought "maybe i should try a different approach" and so i gave them (the teachers) some room to move in my head. my kindness was a mistake.

when people ask me about my work i sometimes say "it'is about the human condition". but in actual fact i do very little exploring any issues regarding that subject.

still, while i was walking home, i figured that maybe i need to do a range about who i am. a proper cohesive body of work, say 16 pieces that try to explain what I'm about, what i like, what i need, what i have to offer.

I fell in love with this image the first time i saw it. love the aesthetics, the detail, the technique, love everything about it.

I highly regard Silvia's opinion on things. this makes me happy and apprehensive. what if stuff i don't think is "my work" is in fact awesome but i just can't see it? questions, questions, questions...

now = time to move on.

in my mind i should print an image that represents all of the above and pin all of them to a wall. then look in search for clues.

i don't see gold all the time, very little actually, but i see muscle constantly. maybe i associate muscle with bravery and courage and one can only be oneself when armed with those 2.

i can take making stuff that no one else likes, but i cannot take wasting my time, money and energy into producing something that is not truly what i like, not truly a manifestation of who i am and what concerns me or a truthful visual representation of what my values of elegance decadence and beauty are! and having that being rejected.

so! the important thought is: fuck that shit! i ain't making no more crap that isn't me.

from now on I'll look at my work bench and I'll identify, I'll look at the final pieces and I'll identify, I'll look at the photos of the final work and I'll identify and I'll look at my website and I'll identify and I'll look at everything that i make and be satisfied that in one way or another it identifies who i am, because there's no point is making anything else but the work you truly believe in.

this horrible idea only actually occurred to me after the range went live. for some reason i had been safely sheltered for this possibility. what if in fact, only, lets say, 2 pieces ever sold in the entire next year? what was i to say and think to myself?

Joao, in 2012, out of 7 pieces you have invested time, money and effort into making, only 2 have sold. just 2.

don't really want to write about the obvious questions that would arise , but something did occur to me that i do want to write about.

even before i had finished a spring rose, i already knew what the next range was going to be like. i can be very decisive. then i finished the last range and it went for sale online and i could finally start focussing on the next project. did sketches and organised ideas. everything was going brilliantly.

then, decided that the website was crap and had to change it (yet again). needed to be easier to update and nicer to look at. had to be more me (continuously torturous quest).

while trying to make the website more me, i stumbled upon a natural question: the website is just the digital house for the work i make, if the house needs to be more me, what about the work? in all honesty i only ask these questions because i know the answer isn't what i want to hear.

the collection i have just finished is definitely not me! the collection i was planning to do next wasn't either.

I found the task difficult because the project is in fact very lacking of a backbone concept. the way it came about was not romantic or significant at all. i was just working on some other jewellery work, did a wax sample, liked the sample, thought the sample had some potential and decided to use it. i wanted to produce a cohesive body of work, wanted it to be wearable and went with whatever i saw in that first sample: a flower.

the work progressed and i started asking these questions: is this me? is this work me? what is my work like?

obvious questions for someone starting up, no surprises. What I was worried with was the answer I was repeatedly arriving at: no.

i really do not like this particular answer to this particular question! but professional life is like this, or at least i think it i, and so i just continued on working. it was important for me to continue and finish what i had started. and i did finish and now it's for sale and that makes me truly happy.

but what about the work that I'll do next?

the above is actually not true. i have never had such a dream. what i did have was the idea of that dream and subsequently the idea that it would sound good and therefore i should write it on the website.

i don't actually know what 2012 will be like. this is an obvious conclusion. what i do know is what i would like it to be. i don't want to write in the 3rd person anymore, and i want to start writing stuff that is somehow more relevant, more informative of who i am and what my work is about.

lately i have been looking at tumblr and what people do with there blogs. it's incredible the amazing images that we humans have created and have captured. i look at what these unknow-to-me people decide to share with the world and like wise say about themselves, and realised (possibly because of other things as well) that my website and what i have normally written about my work or myself is actually very deceiving or at least not true enough. the next post will be about my latest collection.

the entire collection is available online at oyemodern.com

In order to achieve this the ring was designed using Rhinoceros, a 3D construction software tool

The original rendered ring was the stepping stone for the final piece. It already contained the idea of the crossing paths as well as the hard industrial feel.

In the beginning there was a ring! And what a beautiful ring it was indeed. Made of sterling silver it singles out an amazing 8mm wide cushion cut garnet stone. Commissioned to be the engagement ring of Ana Faria, it concludes a delicate process of design done in conjunction with the fiance Luis Vaz.

The outline of the ring represents the crossing paths of both lovers. The stone is help in the middle symbolizing the illuminated moment of their union. The stone setting employed in this ring is a development of the traditional claw setting technique, using claws not only at the top but equally at the bottom, again, raising the stone from the ground and reveling it even further as the physical manifestation of the Devine.

Click the image to see other angles of the ring.

"Held for the last sixteen years between February and April, ASDA brings together designs from a multiplicity of disciplines and has helped increase awareness and action on life cycle and sustainable design practices. Tertiary Institutions are invited to showcase their student’s capabilities by nominating four designs per category that respond to the worlds changing needs, practice innovative design and reflect design excellence. ASDA’s eleven diverse categories", ASDA

This electrical language is ancient, submerse in everything, in each cell and each nucleus. Then, after the initial performance, it continues to move towards the surface of things and frees itself and becomes image, and sound and smell.”, Joao Vaz

"π is an irrational number, which means that its value cannot be expressed exactly as a fraction m/n. Consequently its decimal representation never ends or repeats. π is also a transcendental number, which implies, among other things, that no finite sequence of algebraic operations on integers can be equal to its value.”, Wikipedia

One thing is certain: this year everything will change, it will all become real. Tune in, the ride is just beginning!