Mari Ishikawa’s jewellery relates closely to her work as a photographer. In her collection ‘Moonlight shadow’ she explores aspects of nature in precious metal after a series of enigmatic and contemplative images she has captured by moonlight.

She is fascinated by the grey world that emerges under moonlight, and the colours that exist within it. She has noted that the light level at full moon is 1:400,000 that of sunlight and explains: ‘Photographs under moonlight require longer exposure, which is a time of silence. In that way, I look at the fluidity of time in the darkness. Under the moonlight there are grey worlds. But when I take a picture of such a grey world, they show me different pale colours, which I can’t see with my eyes. It is mysterious. I look into the parallel world.’ This shadowy beauty is captured in the grey oxidised silver forms of her botanical jewellery. She has written: The shape of plants attracts me. Their perfection surprises me. For whom and why are they so beautiful? The green colour of plants is mysterious. This is because we can’t dye anything green using plants, even though they are green. Their colour can’t be preserved. Green is a colour of an illusion, and only where life is. Under the moonlight they show me profound, various grey. They are just there and gone soon. I try to resist this vanishing and keep the memories.’ In this way her jewellery makes tangible and permanent this mysterious and fleeting moonlit beauty.

This ring is one of forty-five pieces of jewellery given to the V&A from the collection of the late Louise Klapisch.