S Sanchez is a Genderqueer Chicano metalsmith and visual artist from Houston, TX. Sanchez’s body of work reflects on the relationship between adornment, power, and culture. They explore how specific iconography and placement of jewelry objects, like septum rings, can signal messages of Queerness. They draw on the symbols of their culture to subvert power structures and define their own imaginations of the future.
Sanchez creates adornment using the imagery, icons, and symbology created within their illustrative practice and the visual language of their cultural background. They continue the tradition of utilizing adornment to signal the power of the wearer by creating jewelry made for queer bodies that assigns status to marginalized identities. Combining ancient methods of creation, such as casting, with contemporary advances such as electroforming, they find their footing in an ancient and ever-advancing media. Through jewelry, they honor the traditions and creators that came before them while navigating the contemporary times they exist within.