/ Celestial Eyes

Jiro Kamata

The Mode of Art— Celestial Eyes
‘It is quite exciting to think about that the light from universe and starlight includes a millions of years of time and information of cosmos.’ －Jiro Kamata


The development of contemporary jewelry has surpassed its meaning of decorative art, but becomes a unique carrier of a personal quest to micro-space and connections for emotions and culture. It stands more than a wearable art piece, but also a kind of philosophical mindset that integrates experiments on materials and the building of aesthetic experience through micro-space.

‘Celestial Eyes: Jiro Kamata’ © ALIEN MODE


‘Celestial Eyes: Jiro Kamata’ © ALIEN MODE. Photo: Chen Yung Hua


Light is scientific but also mystical thing. It becomes primal human desire to wear light. This leads to Jiro Kamata’s inspiration taken from ESO (European Southern Observatory).
Here, he was taught how they catch the star light from the universe and what information is contained within that light. The light that carries long-period of time, has led his understanding to light to a new level. At the Atacama Desert in Chile, he witnessed the sky filled with hundreds of millions of stars, which inspired his interest to astronomy. At the Rye placed in south-east of Australia, he witnessed the ‘curved horizon’ of the Southern Ocean. The sun paints the huge sky with an amazing gradation from blue to orange, and made a beautiful arc shape in the sky. There, Jiro clearly remember a strange feeling that suddenly attacked him at that moment. It was the first time he physically felt the fact that the Earth is a sphere. He realized that sphere is a symbolic shape for astronomy. By cutting out a part of sphere, and creates overlapping space, the shape looks like an ‘eye’. He started to explore the element of ‘phosphorus’, whose name taken from Greek mythology, Φωσφόρος, meaning ‘what carries the light’. To him, this is not only the matter of science, but also the connection between cosmos, galaxy and spheres.

‘Celestial Eyes: Jiro Kamata’ © ALIEN MODE. Photo: Chen Yung Hua


‘Celestial Eyes: Jiro Kamata’ © ALIEN MODE. Photo: Chen Yung Hua



Jiro Kamata, known for his miniature optical sculptures (Contemporary Jewelry), is experienced in using elements such as light and color refraction to create illusional viewing experiences. Jiro creates pieces in forms and shapes that remind people of black holes, galaxies, myths, and even ancient symbols. In collaboration with ALIEN MODE for the project ‘Celestial Eyes’, he explores alternatives of material and develops a variety of forms, focusing on achieving sustainability through design, that enhances the synergy value between culture and ecology.

In the past thirty years, Jiro Kamata has disassembled and re-understood thousands of camera lenses from all over the world and from different eras, drawing inspiration from them to explore the civilized journey of light science. He discovered a special optical phenomenon - the Peltier effect, which causes spherical crystals to be produced when light is illuminated. This principle is similar to 3D holographic projection technology. To stabilize this effect, he created a ring-shaped structure that enclosed the most detailed expression of light. This design not only captures the essence of light, but also presents the beautiful scene of sunrise. Viewed from the side, it looks like a small bean, condensing the power of light.

‘Celestial Eyes: Jiro Kamata’ © ALIEN MODE. Photo: Chen Yung Hua


Jiro Kamata has been passionate about jewelry since he was a child. This time he finally realized his dream of creating his own gemstone. He named this original crystal "ALIEN" and engraved "Jiro Kamata x ALIEN" to commemorate this innovative milestone. For him, this is not just jewelry, but a poetic journey about light, the universe and philosophy.

‘I see these works are closely related to the concept of "livingness" , pieces that integrates with personal lifestyle.’ said Jiro Kamata.

‘Celestial Eyes: Jiro Kamata’ © ALIEN MODE. Photo: Chen Yung Hua


Celestial Eyes: Jiro Kamata
2025.01.10 (Fri.) – 2026.01.11(Sun.)

Organizer ｜ALIEN ART CENTRE
Curator｜Yaman Shao
Artist｜Jiro Kamata
Initiated by｜ALIEN MODE
Fashion｜APUJAN
Filming Artist｜Hailing Wang
Photographer｜Chen Yung Hua
Visual Interpretation｜Liu Hsin Yu
Performance Artist | Lala Sue
Academic Host｜Richard Chang
Space Development｜Hayato Mitzutani
Visual Design｜Elaine Tsai
Documentary｜Wanying Xie
Box Designer｜Julia Andratschke
Special Thanks to｜Min-Ling Hsieh, Mole Hsu, Hairstylist Artist - Weic Lin, Make Up Artist - Sunny Hsu

SCHMUCK

Since 1959, SCHMUCK, a special exhibition held every year at the International Handwerksmesse (IHM) in Munich, Germany, has attracted top jewelry artists around the world, as well as collectors, museum curators, and art galleries representatives. Each year, three winning pieces of the Herbert Hoffman prize are selected among the entries judged based on forms of presentation, innovation of materials, cultural meaning, their stories behind, relevance to social issues, and background of the artist. The Herbert Hoffman prize, also known as the Academy Award in the jewelry design industry, marks the utmost honor for contemporary jewelry design. SCHMUCK, positioned as not only an exhibition, but also a cultural icon for jewelry design today, continues to promote jewelry as an art form on a global scale. BS Holon Ring by Jiro Kamata, for one, made the cover of SCHMUCK 2023 catalogue.

With the development of this domain, contemporary jewelry has entered a new chapter to become an art collection. Several museums and collectors worldwide have their eyes on the artistry, originality, and cultural narrative contained in jewelry design, seeing them part of the elements contributing to an art piece. This transition shows that jewelry, as an extension of contemporary art, has shifted from the visual expression of personal wearables to the manifestation of value shown through collection and public display; this, in turn, expands the cultural connotation and historical positioning of jewelry design.

‘Celestial Eyes: Jiro Kamata’, filmed by Hailing Wang

‘Celestial Eyes: Jiro Kamata’ © ALIEN MODE

‘Celestial Eyes: Jiro Kamata’ © ALIEN MODE

‘Celestial Eyes: Jiro Kamata’ © ALIEN MODE

‘Celestial Eyes: Jiro Kamata’ © ALIEN MODE. Photo: Chen Yung Hua

‘Celestial Eyes: Jiro Kamata’ © ALIEN MODE. Photo: Chen Yung Hua

Stepping into the world of Jiro Kamata's works, viewers will encounter the temporal dimension of cosmic starlight. ‘Celestial Eyes: Jiro Kamata’ , ALIEN Art Centre © ALIEN Art

Contemporary jewelry is increasingly gaining recognition in museums and among collectors, signifying a transformative evolution of jewelry as a form of contemporary art. ALIEN Art Centre features notable works by Jiro Kamata, which have been collected by

“It’s a primal human desire to wear light. ” Through ‘Celestial Eyes: Jiro Kamata’ , ALIEN MODE, in collaboration with Jiro Kamata, explores the limitless possibilities of contemporary jewelry. ‘Celestial Eyes: Jiro Kamata’ , ALIEN Art Centre © ALIEN Art

‘Celestial Eyes: Jiro Kamata’ , A collaboration of artists from Taiwan, Japan, and Germany presents a multidisciplinary exhibition that seamlessly integrates art, fashion, and astronomical science. ‘Celestial Eyes: Jiro Kamata’ , ALIEN Art Centre © ALIEN

Curator Yaman Shao collaborates with contemporary jewelry artist Jiro Kamata, fashion designer APUJAN, filming artist Hailing Wang, art photographer Chen Yung Hua, top model Liu Hsin Yu, architect Hayato Mitzutani, and dancer Lala Sue, among other artists

The 2024 artwork “Holon Raum” employs 141 lenses to encapsulate the collective memories of the era in which humanity exists. ‘Celestial Eyes: Jiro Kamata’ , ALIEN Art Centre © ALIEN Art