LAURA POTTER
APRIL 2015
CRAFT SAMPLES - LAURA POTTER
Redacted Brooches (2014)
Adapted costume jewellery
I had no idea so much of the handicraft I saw as a child came in kit-form, allowing impressive household items to be fashioned by women who had very little skill or feel for materials. My mother subscribed to a monthly magazine full of projects to sew, weave, cast and carve. It was like a craft recipe book with a list of materials and tools, step-by-step instructions, tutorial images and patterns to cut out and use. It was craft-by-numbers. I thought what my [relatives were] doing was accomplished and difficult. I am now not so sure that it was.
Excerpt from Fictional Final Goal (exhibition and publication): Laura Potter 2014
I have been interested in the work of UK jeweller Laura Potter for a long time. I have come across her name in books and seen images of her work in catalogues, however the thing that intrigues me about her the most is her overarching approach to practice. She has written the following about her practice: ‘I have the skills of a jeweller, even when I am not making jewellery. For me this explains an approach to the world, and to making objects, rather than a strict set of skills employed in the production of wearable things.’ I like this notion of Potter's, that it is not always about making an object but rather using a very particular, a 'jewellery way' of viewing, addressing, or exploring everyday ideas.
When I first approached Potter to show with the Personal Space Project she had just opened a solo exhibition of her work, but admitted that she didn’t actually exhibit very often as she felt that her work never seemed to fit any context properly. I felt a connection with Potter's thought about finding the proper context for her work as it is something that I feel within my own work. I was excited by the prospect that the context of a bedroom gallery might be a perfect place for her work to be experienced.
Potter's work for the Personal Space Project comes from her recent solo exhibition; ‘Fictional Final Goal’, an exhibition drawn from the work of the artist and of an other. This other is not quite an alter ego in the strictest sense, but rather a slightly different version of Potter, a version that does not call herself an artist. This work draws very deeply from personal thoughts, ideals and dissatisfaction of worldviews and expectations. ‘Redacted brooches’, the work on show here, is a series of 36 costume jewellery brooches that have been modified by Potter from their original found state; embroidered scenes depicting flowers, sailing vessels, women or birds, encased in a decorative frame with a brooch clasp on the back. Potter has unpicked the embroidered threads to reveal the readymade image below. She has carefully accumulated these freed threads and bundled them into a plastic packets that sit alongside the now stripped back canvas of the brooches.
There are so many interesting thoughts and ideas located in this work, it speaks of an uncovering or unmasking of notions of perceived or expected values of time, place and authenticity. I have certainly enjoyed studying each piece and the colours of the threads, the empty pin holes in the fabric and the image content of the brooch and pondering over the lives of the people who made these pieces before they found a different fate in the enquiring hands of Potter. - ZB
Redacted Brooches (2014)
Adapted costume jewellery
I had no idea so much of the handicraft I saw as a child came in kit-form, allowing impressive household items to be fashioned by women who had very little skill or feel for materials. My mother subscribed to a monthly magazine full of projects to sew, weave, cast and carve. It was like a craft recipe book with a list of materials and tools, step-by-step instructions, tutorial images and patterns to cut out and use. It was craft-by-numbers. I thought what my [relatives were] doing was accomplished and difficult. I am now not so sure that it was.
Excerpt from Fictional Final Goal (exhibition and publication): Laura Potter 2014
I have been interested in the work of UK jeweller Laura Potter for a long time. I have come across her name in books and seen images of her work in catalogues, however the thing that intrigues me about her the most is her overarching approach to practice. She has written the following about her practice: ‘I have the skills of a jeweller, even when I am not making jewellery. For me this explains an approach to the world, and to making objects, rather than a strict set of skills employed in the production of wearable things.’ I like this notion of Potter's, that it is not always about making an object but rather using a very particular, a 'jewellery way' of viewing, addressing, or exploring everyday ideas.
When I first approached Potter to show with the Personal Space Project she had just opened a solo exhibition of her work, but admitted that she didn’t actually exhibit very often as she felt that her work never seemed to fit any context properly. I felt a connection with Potter's thought about finding the proper context for her work as it is something that I feel within my own work. I was excited by the prospect that the context of a bedroom gallery might be a perfect place for her work to be experienced.
Potter's work for the Personal Space Project comes from her recent solo exhibition; ‘Fictional Final Goal’, an exhibition drawn from the work of the artist and of an other. This other is not quite an alter ego in the strictest sense, but rather a slightly different version of Potter, a version that does not call herself an artist. This work draws very deeply from personal thoughts, ideals and dissatisfaction of worldviews and expectations. ‘Redacted brooches’, the work on show here, is a series of 36 costume jewellery brooches that have been modified by Potter from their original found state; embroidered scenes depicting flowers, sailing vessels, women or birds, encased in a decorative frame with a brooch clasp on the back. Potter has unpicked the embroidered threads to reveal the readymade image below. She has carefully accumulated these freed threads and bundled them into a plastic packets that sit alongside the now stripped back canvas of the brooches.
There are so many interesting thoughts and ideas located in this work, it speaks of an uncovering or unmasking of notions of perceived or expected values of time, place and authenticity. I have certainly enjoyed studying each piece and the colours of the threads, the empty pin holes in the fabric and the image content of the brooch and pondering over the lives of the people who made these pieces before they found a different fate in the enquiring hands of Potter. - ZB
THE READING ROOM
MARCH 2015
THE READING ROOM
There has been a lot of chatter recently about widening the audience of contemporary (art) jewellery. This time, every year Munich celebrates a week long jewellery fiesta, Schmuck. But surprisingly this barrage of exhibitions, events and parties doesn't always catch an audience outside that of the inner circle of the field. So, this month I will try and do my small part to open up art (contemporary) jewellery by inviting you to the Personal Space Project: THE READING ROOM, making public my personal library. I have curated a selection of my books into relevant and irrelevant sections, and request the pleasure of your company in helping to extending the knowledge of jewellery in general, by sharing books, conversation and ideas.
THE READING ROOM will be open by appointment throughout the month of March 2015, so if you would like to come and peruse the shelves, learn something new and help to widen the audience of contemporary art jewellery, then please drop me a line at zowe@hotmail.com, it would be my absolute pleasure to share my books, enthusiasm (and maybe a beer) with you.
ROSIE DEACON
FEBRUARY 2015
ROSIE DEACON
I use 'everyday junk' and easily accessible materials to create pieces that blur the lines between contemporary art, craft and jewellery practise. As a maker the idea of repetition and accumulation is cathartic in that it gives me time to process and understand my own interests and existence. I’m interested too in the idea of repurposing everyday materials such as synthetic eyelashes together with things like acrylic paint, expanding foam, jewels, glittery stickers and clay. I think this mash up of very diverse materials affects the meaning of the work and how an audience may interpret the idea of artists' process. - RD
ROSIE DEACON is a Sydney based artist whose work freely zigzags across the boundaries of art and craft. Her art practice is based in sculpture and installation however Deacon’s work frequently dips its toes into the realms of jewellery making.
Her work is spectacular and driven by her obsessions with cultural detritus. Many of her installations take a subject, theme or animal and explode that idea across the gallery space in what might appear initially manic, but is carefully and laboriously constructed. In her essay about Deacon for RUNWAY magazine, Giselle Stanborough writes about one such installation that “it is possible to spend a long time scrutinising the mounds of expressive faces, looking out at us with their fluoro grins as we peer into their world. It is hard not to grin back.” I absolutely agree, it is hard not to grin back at Deacon's work. It is over-the-top, novelty sized and kitsch. As well as being amusing, however, it is also labor intensive and process driven, it is clear that Deacon thrives upon this. In Curly Wurly Doggy-Doo she has cut up and repurposed thousands of rubber waterbombs, to create a rather weighty and long, rainbow lei, I suspect this was no mean feat.
While this display of jewellery and sculpture deviates slightly from her installation work, it certainly retains the feel for her obsession and its intended spectacle; these pieces are HUGE and have a lot to say. With a title such as So Gorge Darl! (She wore parrot earrings) you get the feeling Deacon relishes in the tacky and the Australiana of it all, gleefully suggesting a fantasy world of questionable taste, ambiguous worth and remarkable adornment. - ZB
1,2/ Curly Wurly Doggy-Doo (Rainbow Necklace), 2015, nylon thread, waterbombs, 2015
3/ Koala Klip Ons, 2015, toy koalas, tigertail wire, toy eyes
4/ So Gorge Darl! (She wore parrot earrings), 2015, timber, Fun-Foam, Fimo, acrylic beads
5/ Merry Matilda (Necklace Display Stand), 2015, Fun-Foam, ceramic stand
I use 'everyday junk' and easily accessible materials to create pieces that blur the lines between contemporary art, craft and jewellery practise. As a maker the idea of repetition and accumulation is cathartic in that it gives me time to process and understand my own interests and existence. I’m interested too in the idea of repurposing everyday materials such as synthetic eyelashes together with things like acrylic paint, expanding foam, jewels, glittery stickers and clay. I think this mash up of very diverse materials affects the meaning of the work and how an audience may interpret the idea of artists' process. - RD
ROSIE DEACON is a Sydney based artist whose work freely zigzags across the boundaries of art and craft. Her art practice is based in sculpture and installation however Deacon’s work frequently dips its toes into the realms of jewellery making.
Her work is spectacular and driven by her obsessions with cultural detritus. Many of her installations take a subject, theme or animal and explode that idea across the gallery space in what might appear initially manic, but is carefully and laboriously constructed. In her essay about Deacon for RUNWAY magazine, Giselle Stanborough writes about one such installation that “it is possible to spend a long time scrutinising the mounds of expressive faces, looking out at us with their fluoro grins as we peer into their world. It is hard not to grin back.” I absolutely agree, it is hard not to grin back at Deacon's work. It is over-the-top, novelty sized and kitsch. As well as being amusing, however, it is also labor intensive and process driven, it is clear that Deacon thrives upon this. In Curly Wurly Doggy-Doo she has cut up and repurposed thousands of rubber waterbombs, to create a rather weighty and long, rainbow lei, I suspect this was no mean feat.
While this display of jewellery and sculpture deviates slightly from her installation work, it certainly retains the feel for her obsession and its intended spectacle; these pieces are HUGE and have a lot to say. With a title such as So Gorge Darl! (She wore parrot earrings) you get the feeling Deacon relishes in the tacky and the Australiana of it all, gleefully suggesting a fantasy world of questionable taste, ambiguous worth and remarkable adornment. - ZB
1,2/ Curly Wurly Doggy-Doo (Rainbow Necklace), 2015, nylon thread, waterbombs, 2015
3/ Koala Klip Ons, 2015, toy koalas, tigertail wire, toy eyes
4/ So Gorge Darl! (She wore parrot earrings), 2015, timber, Fun-Foam, Fimo, acrylic beads
5/ Merry Matilda (Necklace Display Stand), 2015, Fun-Foam, ceramic stand
LISA FURNO
DECEMBER 2014
LISA FURNO
'It came from the goo lagoon'
2014, brooches, pre-loved plastic bead necklaces
60 x 65 x 10mm each.
My approach to my work has developed into one that is intuitively led through experimentation and exploration with materials, colours and composition. Now, I find it beneficial to develop pieces without a predetermined end in mind and enjoy the journey of the processes.
My process is entirely handmade and is both influenced and motivated by the cause and effect of consumerism, sustainability and recycling. I choose to source predominantly used and second hand materials. Having previously worked with the aid of a heat gun to manipulate and morph these materials, this time I experimented with a toaster oven. My aim for this body of work was “letting go” and not over thinking the making process; letting each piece gradually feed into the next, and allow each idea to naturally develop into its own form through free experimentation and no time limits or deadlines. This resulted in a complete explosion of constant ideas.
I am drawn to pre-loved materials and the character and sense of soul that comes with them and I’m drawn to manipulating these materials through the application of heat. Intrigued by the way that these materials morph, twist, retract and ooze with heat, its like they become alive they stretch, dance and settle again, still. - LF
During December the Personal Space Project is very pleased to be showing the work of great friend and South Australian jeweller Lisa Furno. Furno has been thoughtfully carving out a colourful practice ever since I met her in Sydney back in 2006. More recently Lisa returned to her hometown of Adelaide, where she has been an active studio resident at the eminent Gray St Workshop since 2011.
Lisa's workspace is a veritable wonderland of colourful lucky dip joy; with sideshow carnival prizes, plastic Christmas bonbon bits, secondhand toys and garage sale scores filling the space. Whilst Furno’s work exudes a multitude of fun, mischief and play; she takes her practice very seriously. Questioning, pushing and poking her materials to seeing what happens if you do this or that. You get the feeling that behind all the seeming chance and happenstance on the surface of Lisa's work, there is still an unquestionable tension between her desire to control a piece and her joy of letting go, allowing for chance to take a far greater role in the final outcome.
In this body of work 'It came from the goo lagoon', Furno takes a traditional jewellery archetype, the beaded necklace and applies a slightly sinister and not so traditional approach to material transformation. These pre-loved necklaces have been treated to some time in the toaster-oven, melting, morphing perhaps even bubbling, before Furno deems them well done. There is something visually oily and growth-like about them they are black, sticky and gooey - but also when touched are undoubtedly revealed to be plastic: solid and smooth and light. These pieces make me want to touch, to investigate and even smell them, they make me ponder what they once were and where they once resided. Additionally perhaps, Furno’s motives in this malformation could be read as a witty commentary on consumerism and the plastic fantastic world that we embrace but also so readily discard. - ZB
'It came from the goo lagoon'
2014, brooches, pre-loved plastic bead necklaces
60 x 65 x 10mm each.
My approach to my work has developed into one that is intuitively led through experimentation and exploration with materials, colours and composition. Now, I find it beneficial to develop pieces without a predetermined end in mind and enjoy the journey of the processes.
My process is entirely handmade and is both influenced and motivated by the cause and effect of consumerism, sustainability and recycling. I choose to source predominantly used and second hand materials. Having previously worked with the aid of a heat gun to manipulate and morph these materials, this time I experimented with a toaster oven. My aim for this body of work was “letting go” and not over thinking the making process; letting each piece gradually feed into the next, and allow each idea to naturally develop into its own form through free experimentation and no time limits or deadlines. This resulted in a complete explosion of constant ideas.
I am drawn to pre-loved materials and the character and sense of soul that comes with them and I’m drawn to manipulating these materials through the application of heat. Intrigued by the way that these materials morph, twist, retract and ooze with heat, its like they become alive they stretch, dance and settle again, still. - LF
During December the Personal Space Project is very pleased to be showing the work of great friend and South Australian jeweller Lisa Furno. Furno has been thoughtfully carving out a colourful practice ever since I met her in Sydney back in 2006. More recently Lisa returned to her hometown of Adelaide, where she has been an active studio resident at the eminent Gray St Workshop since 2011.
Lisa's workspace is a veritable wonderland of colourful lucky dip joy; with sideshow carnival prizes, plastic Christmas bonbon bits, secondhand toys and garage sale scores filling the space. Whilst Furno’s work exudes a multitude of fun, mischief and play; she takes her practice very seriously. Questioning, pushing and poking her materials to seeing what happens if you do this or that. You get the feeling that behind all the seeming chance and happenstance on the surface of Lisa's work, there is still an unquestionable tension between her desire to control a piece and her joy of letting go, allowing for chance to take a far greater role in the final outcome.
In this body of work 'It came from the goo lagoon', Furno takes a traditional jewellery archetype, the beaded necklace and applies a slightly sinister and not so traditional approach to material transformation. These pre-loved necklaces have been treated to some time in the toaster-oven, melting, morphing perhaps even bubbling, before Furno deems them well done. There is something visually oily and growth-like about them they are black, sticky and gooey - but also when touched are undoubtedly revealed to be plastic: solid and smooth and light. These pieces make me want to touch, to investigate and even smell them, they make me ponder what they once were and where they once resided. Additionally perhaps, Furno’s motives in this malformation could be read as a witty commentary on consumerism and the plastic fantastic world that we embrace but also so readily discard. - ZB
MELINDA YOUNG
OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2014
Sense & Scentability (1999 – 2014)
An ongoing exploration of (in)visible body adornment
'Sense & Scentability sees the incorporation of two neckpieces made from Pears Soap and frankincense respectively, into the body. These works form part of my ongoing research into social constructs of ‘cleanliness’ and adornment. This research stems from a fascination with the manner in which our bodies are (consciously and unconsciously) invisibly adorned with scent.' - Melinda Young
-----
Melinda Young is the reason that I am who I am. The purchase of a ring by Young even before I knew what contemporary jewellery was, became the catalyst for a number of fortuitous events that eventually led to Young becoming my teacher, mentor and dear friend. So I feel especially honoured to be showcasing her work for the Personal Space Project this month.
Young has sent me two neckpieces, which at first glance appear to be amber beads, traditional and familiar. But on closer proximity and when touched their materiality becomes clear, a paradox to your initial thoughts. One is made from the frankincense that Young brought back from a teaching stint on the boarder of the UAE and Oman many years ago. The other is whittled from a bar of Pears Soap, a pervasive and generational household consumable easily recognised for its colour, shape and translucency. Each neckpiece has faceted beads carved by Young from their respective materials and threaded onto string, these have been displayed over specially commissioned ceramics by Susan Frost.
Young has instructed me not to wear them instead to use the neckpiece of Pears Soap to wash with everyday. With the second to be used to scent my room, clothes and body by burning, over a small charcoal block, frankincense shards hammered from it. Already my bedroom has become otherworldly, it has been consumed in a heavy haze of fragrant white smoke as I currently write these words.
While Young has created a number of these works over the years, they have always existed as a physical jewellery piece, to be worn but also to speculate on what would happen if they were. These pieces have never been fully activated; they have never been taken to their next level beyond the gallery wall or the act of wearing. Their final stage is reached through the performance and action of use. Young is engaging our other senses to go beyond a visual, to an invisible adornment.
Young has an ongoing fascination with the ways in which we adorn our bodies with scent. We go to great lengths to cover our natural smells, with natural scents sourced from nature; vanilla, rose, coconut and Pine Fresh just to name a few. She notes ‘How many scents have you put on today? Count them. Detergent, shampoo, conditioner, soap, make up, laundry liquid, fabric softener, toothpaste, deodorant, antiseptic cream, sports liniment, moisturizer, eye cream, hand cream, hair removal cream, shaving cream, fake tan, sunscreen… and I haven’t even gotten to perfume yet!’
This work speaks to social constructs of the body and cleanliness, of cultural rituals and action. It explores what we consider to be natural, and how memories can be triggered by scent; it also considers our conscious and unconscious deeds. Although these works are ephemeral in from, they will certainly leave an enduring trace on my room, clothes, possessions and memories. -ZB
An ongoing exploration of (in)visible body adornment
'Sense & Scentability sees the incorporation of two neckpieces made from Pears Soap and frankincense respectively, into the body. These works form part of my ongoing research into social constructs of ‘cleanliness’ and adornment. This research stems from a fascination with the manner in which our bodies are (consciously and unconsciously) invisibly adorned with scent.' - Melinda Young
-----
Melinda Young is the reason that I am who I am. The purchase of a ring by Young even before I knew what contemporary jewellery was, became the catalyst for a number of fortuitous events that eventually led to Young becoming my teacher, mentor and dear friend. So I feel especially honoured to be showcasing her work for the Personal Space Project this month.
Young has sent me two neckpieces, which at first glance appear to be amber beads, traditional and familiar. But on closer proximity and when touched their materiality becomes clear, a paradox to your initial thoughts. One is made from the frankincense that Young brought back from a teaching stint on the boarder of the UAE and Oman many years ago. The other is whittled from a bar of Pears Soap, a pervasive and generational household consumable easily recognised for its colour, shape and translucency. Each neckpiece has faceted beads carved by Young from their respective materials and threaded onto string, these have been displayed over specially commissioned ceramics by Susan Frost.
Young has instructed me not to wear them instead to use the neckpiece of Pears Soap to wash with everyday. With the second to be used to scent my room, clothes and body by burning, over a small charcoal block, frankincense shards hammered from it. Already my bedroom has become otherworldly, it has been consumed in a heavy haze of fragrant white smoke as I currently write these words.
While Young has created a number of these works over the years, they have always existed as a physical jewellery piece, to be worn but also to speculate on what would happen if they were. These pieces have never been fully activated; they have never been taken to their next level beyond the gallery wall or the act of wearing. Their final stage is reached through the performance and action of use. Young is engaging our other senses to go beyond a visual, to an invisible adornment.
Young has an ongoing fascination with the ways in which we adorn our bodies with scent. We go to great lengths to cover our natural smells, with natural scents sourced from nature; vanilla, rose, coconut and Pine Fresh just to name a few. She notes ‘How many scents have you put on today? Count them. Detergent, shampoo, conditioner, soap, make up, laundry liquid, fabric softener, toothpaste, deodorant, antiseptic cream, sports liniment, moisturizer, eye cream, hand cream, hair removal cream, shaving cream, fake tan, sunscreen… and I haven’t even gotten to perfume yet!’
This work speaks to social constructs of the body and cleanliness, of cultural rituals and action. It explores what we consider to be natural, and how memories can be triggered by scent; it also considers our conscious and unconscious deeds. Although these works are ephemeral in from, they will certainly leave an enduring trace on my room, clothes, possessions and memories. -ZB
RENEE BEVAN + JHANA MILLERS
SEPTEMBER 2014
an idea at the personal space project, september 2014
A collaborative project by Renee Bevan + Jhana Millers
"an idea is an ongoing project and collaboration by Renee Bevan and Jhana Millers. It involves the creation and exhibition of instructional ideas for artworks both online and in the public space. In the spirit of other do-it-yourself art projects it invites you, the public, to author and activate these ideas.
an idea directs the premise of art by instruction into the jewellery domain, while exploring the meaning and value of jewellery in relation to its historical and contemporary function. On the surface jewellery is about adornment and decoration, yet it is also symbolic of identity, status, ritual and tradition; all of which create opportunities for human connections and shared experiences. By inviting the public to activate these instructions, an idea hopes to connect, or reconnect, people with their environment and with each other, provoking encounters and heightening awareness around the everyday.
For the exhibition ‘an idea at the Personal Space Project’ Renee Bevan and Jhana Millers will exhibit the full series of an idea project instructions - every instruction to date. Over the month long exhibition period each of the five an idea project/instructions will be presented as text on the gallery wall. Over the six days in which each instruction is presented Bevan and Millers invite Zoe Brand to activate each instructional work, asking her to complete each an idea assignment over the six days in which each assignment is up. Over this period Brand is also invited to record her actions/results, these will then be posted online on both the an idea and Personal Space Project websites.
Over the period of September through completing each of these instructional works Zoe will activate/create the work and have a number of different jewellery and jewellery related encounters and experiences." - RB + JM
A collaborative project by Renee Bevan + Jhana Millers
"an idea is an ongoing project and collaboration by Renee Bevan and Jhana Millers. It involves the creation and exhibition of instructional ideas for artworks both online and in the public space. In the spirit of other do-it-yourself art projects it invites you, the public, to author and activate these ideas.
an idea directs the premise of art by instruction into the jewellery domain, while exploring the meaning and value of jewellery in relation to its historical and contemporary function. On the surface jewellery is about adornment and decoration, yet it is also symbolic of identity, status, ritual and tradition; all of which create opportunities for human connections and shared experiences. By inviting the public to activate these instructions, an idea hopes to connect, or reconnect, people with their environment and with each other, provoking encounters and heightening awareness around the everyday.
For the exhibition ‘an idea at the Personal Space Project’ Renee Bevan and Jhana Millers will exhibit the full series of an idea project instructions - every instruction to date. Over the month long exhibition period each of the five an idea project/instructions will be presented as text on the gallery wall. Over the six days in which each instruction is presented Bevan and Millers invite Zoe Brand to activate each instructional work, asking her to complete each an idea assignment over the six days in which each assignment is up. Over this period Brand is also invited to record her actions/results, these will then be posted online on both the an idea and Personal Space Project websites.
Over the period of September through completing each of these instructional works Zoe will activate/create the work and have a number of different jewellery and jewellery related encounters and experiences." - RB + JM
I have been a huge fan of New Zealand jewellers Renee Bevan and Jhana Millers for quite some time. Their highly conceptual, often performative works and outer edge practices have always drawn my interest. Needless to say I'm thrilled to be exhibiting their collaborative work for the Personal Space Project's first year anniversay. Bevan and Millers are certainly putting me through my paces, with five ‘ideas’, some that are sure to test my boundaries, will be activated throughout the month of September. These 'ideas' have previously been exhibited separately, so this is the first time the whole set has been put into action in the same location.
Both Bevan and Millers have had the fortunate opportunity to participate in "Handshake", a New Zealand based intensive mentoring program set up by jeweller and educator Peter Deckers. Millers who participated in the first iteration back in 2011 had the great privilege to be mentored by European based Suska Mackert. Mackert is jeweller who hardly makes any jewellery, instead is more interested in jewellery as a phenomenon and creates works though performance, text and documentation. While Bevan, currently in the program is working under American based artist Harrell Fletcher, whose work walks the instructional, interdisciplinary and social line and pushes the possibilities of art practice. So perhaps it is not surprising that Bevan and Millers would be drawn to similar artists, ways of working and approaching ideas. It is really fascinating to see their shared interest in working across jewellery and conceptual art, and how this has manifested particularly into this collaborative project.
Bevan and Millers are asking us to slow down, take a chance and really think about the possibilities that these proposed ideas might afford. I’m certainly excited about how I will interact with them, what outcomes might arise and how they will effect me. - ZB
Both Bevan and Millers have had the fortunate opportunity to participate in "Handshake", a New Zealand based intensive mentoring program set up by jeweller and educator Peter Deckers. Millers who participated in the first iteration back in 2011 had the great privilege to be mentored by European based Suska Mackert. Mackert is jeweller who hardly makes any jewellery, instead is more interested in jewellery as a phenomenon and creates works though performance, text and documentation. While Bevan, currently in the program is working under American based artist Harrell Fletcher, whose work walks the instructional, interdisciplinary and social line and pushes the possibilities of art practice. So perhaps it is not surprising that Bevan and Millers would be drawn to similar artists, ways of working and approaching ideas. It is really fascinating to see their shared interest in working across jewellery and conceptual art, and how this has manifested particularly into this collaborative project.
Bevan and Millers are asking us to slow down, take a chance and really think about the possibilities that these proposed ideas might afford. I’m certainly excited about how I will interact with them, what outcomes might arise and how they will effect me. - ZB
1/ Select a number from the phone book. Phone this number and ask whoever answers to share a story about a piece of jewellery that is special to them. Continue until you encounter someone willing to share their story. an idea is a collaborative project by Renee Bevan & Jhana Millers 2013
As someone who uses their phone for everything but calling people, this first instruction from Bevan and Millers, was certainly the most terrifying prospect. How was I going to introduce myself? What would I say to keep the person on the line long enough for them to not think I was crazy? I’m not going to lie I did a few practice runs aloud to myself.
I actually had to borrow a phonebook from the library, as they no longer seem to be as ubiquitous as they once were. Having picked my first random household to call and a further six unanswered attempts, I finally dialed a business number hoping to at least get a someone in which to give my rehearsed spiel to.
Success arrived on the other end of the line in the form of the lovely and very professional Shannon. I quickly and nervously ran though an introduction, she seemed accommodating, if busy, but really wanted to think about how she might respond since, she confessed that she wore little jewellery. Wanting to give the request some further thought and in a manner pertaining to a perfect business call, she took my number and said she would call me back on her lunch break. I was a little surprised but also delighted when she called back later in the day to offer me a story about a necklace that her brother and his wife given her as a gift. Shannon described the necklace as having large abnormal shaped beads in olive green, with one plain wood bead for effect. The reason that she liked this piece was that it was by made by company that supports a number of charities, so that no only was it a gift from loved ones but it also carried a social message. For Shannon wearing this piece is less about the look of it and more about these meanings. After a bit more chitchat I thanked Shannon for her time and hung-up. What a great outcome! - ZB
2/ Select a piece of jewellery that carries significance but that you no longer wear or need. Carry it until encountering someone you feel may like it. Anonymously gift this to them by dropping it in their pocket, bag, letterbox, or on their desk etc. an idea is a collaborative project by Renee Bevan & Jhana Millers 2013
For this instruction I chose to go to my 'traditional' (as opposed to 'art') jewellery box to find something that I was will willing to pass on. This was far harder than I thought it would be. My 'traditional' jewellery box contains little material worth, mostly cheap silver pieces, beads, badges, sparkly brooches and rings, lots of rings. But looking into that box of jewellery that I never wear and hardly look at, associated memories of each piece started to niggle on my mind. This instruction I thought would be easy, but the more I let in seep into my thoughts, the more I was sure that I wanted the piece to be accepted by its new owner. I didn't want them to think - 'Hey what's this weird piece of jewellery doing in my bag (desk, pocket etc)? How creepy is that? I'm not going to keep it!' - well, perhaps it might go differently to that, but that's possibly what I would do if the situation was reversed.
I thought to get past this barrier I could leave a note with the piece that said something like 'a gift for you' or 'this is for you, please like it'. but decided against this idea as it just didn't seem in keeping with the essence of the instruction. I wanted to choose a piece that was not so obviously personal in the way the jewellery can be, and hoping that this would work in its favour with its new owner.
So I choose a badge. There is something about the archetype of the badge that I feel would be more accepted by a stranger, than say a silver ring, or a beaded necklace. This badge was purchased as a souvenir of a time but also because of its associations with previous memories that I had related to it. It's a simple white badge with red text, It reads 'LOVE FOREVER - KUSAMA'.
I haven't found the perfect new owner for this piece yet, but I'll continue to carry it around until I do. - ZB
3/ Using gold leaf, or gold paint, guild your neighbour’s letter box numbers. If there aren’t numbers make a trip to your local hardware store to buy some. an idea is a collaborative project by Renee Bevan & Jhana Millers 2013
I've been thinking about this one for so many nights, I went out and bought some gold leaf and had run though in my head exactly how it was all going to work out. It was going to be so beautiful, majestic even. It was going to look SO good! Well, what a disaster! Instead of perfection, I have vandalised my poor neighbours letter box. It's bad, it's real bad. It's a gold leaf explosion stuck, stuck everywhere.
So the moral of the story, never gold leaf anything, ever. In all seriousness though, this one has really challenged me, what I thought would be a touch of whimsy, actually turned out to be vandalism. How do I feel about this? Pretty horrible really. To be fair the instructions don't say 'go out in the middle of the night and anonymously make gold your neighbours house numbers', in hindsight I could have knocked on my neighbours door and asked them politely if they would like their numbers turned to gold. If this was the case I could have taken my time, not hustled out in the middle of the night, not acted hastily, and not bodged up my neighbours property.
I now face the conundrum of what to do. Do I fess up and offer to try and fix it, sheepishly ignore it, or go back in the night and try and remove it all without the neighbours ever being the wiser who was responsible for such an weird act gold leaf vandalism? - ZB
4/ Imagine a big chunky bracelet. Imagine it in your favourite colour. Imagine it on your right wrist. Now imagine you can never take it off, ever. an idea is a collaborative project by Renee Bevan & Jhana Millers instruction in collaboration with Roya Hazel Lea 2014
Whenever I read this idea, my mind creates the exact same vivid response every time: A Susan Cohn style donut bracelet (but the size and weight of a swimming float) , coloured super shiny purple (even thought I don't really like purple), on my right wrist as I hold my arm out in front of me. Then I get to the kicker; you can never take it off, ever. At this thought, my arm followed quickly by the rest of my body drops to the ground, as if the bracelet is now the weight of lead.
5/ Using an object as a connector, connect yourself to another. Stay that way - an idea is a collaborative project by Renee Bevan & Jhana Millers 2014
This idea has somewhat troubled me, not because it’s difficult but because, like the previous idea, my mind creates the exact same response every time I think about it.
I want to think of something else, something more authentic, more true to the instruction, but my mind doesn’t think anything could be as funny as the scenario it has already conjured up. It doesn’t want to make this idea serious, it wants to keep it light hearted and giggle worthy. So be it:
I imagine that I’m I looking at the palm of my hand, the bottom of the ring I wear everyday is facing up at me. I now reach my arm out and place my hand flat on the nearest wall to me, I’m in a hallway, so there are people moving about me. I realise that my hand via my ring is connecting me to the wall like a strong magnet, it’s stuck, I’m stuck. I don’t struggle, in fact I’m happy and wave with my free hand, nod my head and grin at passers, I stay this way forever.
As someone who uses their phone for everything but calling people, this first instruction from Bevan and Millers, was certainly the most terrifying prospect. How was I going to introduce myself? What would I say to keep the person on the line long enough for them to not think I was crazy? I’m not going to lie I did a few practice runs aloud to myself.
I actually had to borrow a phonebook from the library, as they no longer seem to be as ubiquitous as they once were. Having picked my first random household to call and a further six unanswered attempts, I finally dialed a business number hoping to at least get a someone in which to give my rehearsed spiel to.
Success arrived on the other end of the line in the form of the lovely and very professional Shannon. I quickly and nervously ran though an introduction, she seemed accommodating, if busy, but really wanted to think about how she might respond since, she confessed that she wore little jewellery. Wanting to give the request some further thought and in a manner pertaining to a perfect business call, she took my number and said she would call me back on her lunch break. I was a little surprised but also delighted when she called back later in the day to offer me a story about a necklace that her brother and his wife given her as a gift. Shannon described the necklace as having large abnormal shaped beads in olive green, with one plain wood bead for effect. The reason that she liked this piece was that it was by made by company that supports a number of charities, so that no only was it a gift from loved ones but it also carried a social message. For Shannon wearing this piece is less about the look of it and more about these meanings. After a bit more chitchat I thanked Shannon for her time and hung-up. What a great outcome! - ZB
2/ Select a piece of jewellery that carries significance but that you no longer wear or need. Carry it until encountering someone you feel may like it. Anonymously gift this to them by dropping it in their pocket, bag, letterbox, or on their desk etc. an idea is a collaborative project by Renee Bevan & Jhana Millers 2013
For this instruction I chose to go to my 'traditional' (as opposed to 'art') jewellery box to find something that I was will willing to pass on. This was far harder than I thought it would be. My 'traditional' jewellery box contains little material worth, mostly cheap silver pieces, beads, badges, sparkly brooches and rings, lots of rings. But looking into that box of jewellery that I never wear and hardly look at, associated memories of each piece started to niggle on my mind. This instruction I thought would be easy, but the more I let in seep into my thoughts, the more I was sure that I wanted the piece to be accepted by its new owner. I didn't want them to think - 'Hey what's this weird piece of jewellery doing in my bag (desk, pocket etc)? How creepy is that? I'm not going to keep it!' - well, perhaps it might go differently to that, but that's possibly what I would do if the situation was reversed.
I thought to get past this barrier I could leave a note with the piece that said something like 'a gift for you' or 'this is for you, please like it'. but decided against this idea as it just didn't seem in keeping with the essence of the instruction. I wanted to choose a piece that was not so obviously personal in the way the jewellery can be, and hoping that this would work in its favour with its new owner.
So I choose a badge. There is something about the archetype of the badge that I feel would be more accepted by a stranger, than say a silver ring, or a beaded necklace. This badge was purchased as a souvenir of a time but also because of its associations with previous memories that I had related to it. It's a simple white badge with red text, It reads 'LOVE FOREVER - KUSAMA'.
I haven't found the perfect new owner for this piece yet, but I'll continue to carry it around until I do. - ZB
3/ Using gold leaf, or gold paint, guild your neighbour’s letter box numbers. If there aren’t numbers make a trip to your local hardware store to buy some. an idea is a collaborative project by Renee Bevan & Jhana Millers 2013
I've been thinking about this one for so many nights, I went out and bought some gold leaf and had run though in my head exactly how it was all going to work out. It was going to be so beautiful, majestic even. It was going to look SO good! Well, what a disaster! Instead of perfection, I have vandalised my poor neighbours letter box. It's bad, it's real bad. It's a gold leaf explosion stuck, stuck everywhere.
So the moral of the story, never gold leaf anything, ever. In all seriousness though, this one has really challenged me, what I thought would be a touch of whimsy, actually turned out to be vandalism. How do I feel about this? Pretty horrible really. To be fair the instructions don't say 'go out in the middle of the night and anonymously make gold your neighbours house numbers', in hindsight I could have knocked on my neighbours door and asked them politely if they would like their numbers turned to gold. If this was the case I could have taken my time, not hustled out in the middle of the night, not acted hastily, and not bodged up my neighbours property.
I now face the conundrum of what to do. Do I fess up and offer to try and fix it, sheepishly ignore it, or go back in the night and try and remove it all without the neighbours ever being the wiser who was responsible for such an weird act gold leaf vandalism? - ZB
4/ Imagine a big chunky bracelet. Imagine it in your favourite colour. Imagine it on your right wrist. Now imagine you can never take it off, ever. an idea is a collaborative project by Renee Bevan & Jhana Millers instruction in collaboration with Roya Hazel Lea 2014
Whenever I read this idea, my mind creates the exact same vivid response every time: A Susan Cohn style donut bracelet (but the size and weight of a swimming float) , coloured super shiny purple (even thought I don't really like purple), on my right wrist as I hold my arm out in front of me. Then I get to the kicker; you can never take it off, ever. At this thought, my arm followed quickly by the rest of my body drops to the ground, as if the bracelet is now the weight of lead.
5/ Using an object as a connector, connect yourself to another. Stay that way - an idea is a collaborative project by Renee Bevan & Jhana Millers 2014
This idea has somewhat troubled me, not because it’s difficult but because, like the previous idea, my mind creates the exact same response every time I think about it.
I want to think of something else, something more authentic, more true to the instruction, but my mind doesn’t think anything could be as funny as the scenario it has already conjured up. It doesn’t want to make this idea serious, it wants to keep it light hearted and giggle worthy. So be it:
I imagine that I’m I looking at the palm of my hand, the bottom of the ring I wear everyday is facing up at me. I now reach my arm out and place my hand flat on the nearest wall to me, I’m in a hallway, so there are people moving about me. I realise that my hand via my ring is connecting me to the wall like a strong magnet, it’s stuck, I’m stuck. I don’t struggle, in fact I’m happy and wave with my free hand, nod my head and grin at passers, I stay this way forever.
VOLKER ATROPS
AUGUST 2014
Back in 1993….
92 slides, one earring, one slide box, three visual diaries, one catalogue (1993)
"Under the title "Munich Goldsmiths", the Munich Stadtmuseum showed, from 26th March - 23rd May, 1993 jewellery and hollow-ware from 60 chosen local gold and silversmiths. Neither the exhibition, nor the catalogue were able to clearly define the criteria for the selection, or to define the generality of the title. Volker Atrops took the title literally and explained publicly his own criteria for such a selection. With the help of the Yellow Pages and a city map, he undertook lengthy sunday walks and photographed the facades of all the goldsmith shops and studios listed in the Yellow Pages. The lecture "Munich Goldsmiths", consisted of an uncommented sequences of slide selections and portrayed the discrepancy between the museum's appropriation and the reality. Volker Atrops used the invitation from the Munich Stadtmuseum as a "model" for shaping the format, layout and jargon of his own announcement." - from the catalogue 'Gold or Life'
(Munich Goldsmiths was originally shown on the 25th-26th March, 1993, Main Lecture Hall, Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, and again at the Munich Stadtmuseum with no explanation, just on a rotation of 30seconds each. Now shown again in August 2014, 21 years later in bedroom gallery located in Canberra, Australia)
92 slides, one earring, one slide box, three visual diaries, one catalogue (1993)
"Under the title "Munich Goldsmiths", the Munich Stadtmuseum showed, from 26th March - 23rd May, 1993 jewellery and hollow-ware from 60 chosen local gold and silversmiths. Neither the exhibition, nor the catalogue were able to clearly define the criteria for the selection, or to define the generality of the title. Volker Atrops took the title literally and explained publicly his own criteria for such a selection. With the help of the Yellow Pages and a city map, he undertook lengthy sunday walks and photographed the facades of all the goldsmith shops and studios listed in the Yellow Pages. The lecture "Munich Goldsmiths", consisted of an uncommented sequences of slide selections and portrayed the discrepancy between the museum's appropriation and the reality. Volker Atrops used the invitation from the Munich Stadtmuseum as a "model" for shaping the format, layout and jargon of his own announcement." - from the catalogue 'Gold or Life'
(Munich Goldsmiths was originally shown on the 25th-26th March, 1993, Main Lecture Hall, Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, and again at the Munich Stadtmuseum with no explanation, just on a rotation of 30seconds each. Now shown again in August 2014, 21 years later in bedroom gallery located in Canberra, Australia)
Above Video: A small selection of slides from the 'Munich Goldsmith' series 1993 (turn up your volume for more a authentic experience.)
A few of years ago I came across a catalogue, it was a little larger than A4 in size, all black with only a gold coffin motif on the cover; Gold oder Leben, Gold or Life its front pages proclaimed. According to the catalogue, in 1993 a number of Bavarian art institutions decided to showcase ‘The Munich Art of Gold and Silversmithing’ or as the newspapers at the time touted a ‘Jewellery Olympics’[1]. Much to the disappointment and indignation of the class for Jewellery and Hollow-ware, of the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich and its Professor, Otto Künzli, who believed that they had over the years established a considerable part of Munich’s reputation for and quality of gold and silversmithing. That they were overlooked in this jewellery extravaganza they felt was an outright offence. As a response to their exclusion from the main event this catalogue documents ‘an intense, yet still loose series of events, performances and demonstrations, productions and portrayals, from actions, investigations, analyses and questions from preoccupations, descriptions and reflections from, with and about jewellery’[2] made by the class during the 31 days of March 1993.
It is with absolute pleasure and delight that the Personal Space Project presents the work of Volker Atrops from this time. With many thanks to Manon van Kouswijk for suggesting this work as a thoroughly satisfying complement not only to her own, but also providing the serendipitous moment of reminding me of this catalogue and its exciting premise, and its embodying of the very reason the Personal Space Project came into being.
There is something wonderfully nostalgic about the sound, light and mildly terrifying heat of a slide projector. Clicking slowly though these 21-year-old slides, you begin to observe a number of things, like the occasional unfocused image, as if taken on the run; the incidental timing of a passerby, or the imperfect timing of a bus or car. You also notice what is absent, Atrops rarely captures his own reflection unless it is absolutely unavoidable. It is a refreshing insight into a time before the onslaught of the ‘digital age’ and before the ‘self’ become so prevalent in all our images. You also get the feeling that Atrops purposefully takes an almost irreverent attitude about classic composition, as if this isn’t as important as getting around to all the Munich Goldsmiths that he has found the Yellow Pages
Atrops had chosen to capture these shops on a Sunday, the only day of the week they were closed for business. The often caged or the barely stocked windows leave little for the casual passerby to observe, they are uninviting and bleak. It is this irony that Atrops revels in, showing us the antithesis of what we imagine a jewellery shop front to be, brightly lit and bursting with desirable, valuable and sparkling accoutrements. Perhaps Atrops has done for jewellery shopwindows what Swiss artist duo Fischli/Weiss did for Airports, make us think differently about the banality and mediocrity of the common and repeated scenes and objects that take up moments of our lives, and how we exist in the world.
[1] Information garnered from Otto Künzli’s introduction to the catalogue ‘Gold or Life’, Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, 1994. P.7
[2] ibid.
Manon van kouswijk
july 2014
Avondwinkel
2007 / 2014
A display of 20 jewellery pieces made of glow in the dark materials:
Fimo / sculpey, sheet, beads, thread.
In my work I am looking for a space between the general and the personal, between me as a maker and the jewel as an object that has a history and significance of its own, and that offers a space for someone else to identify with it and wear it as an extension of their personality.
Instead of being a very present author I try to operate more like a kind of translator of an existing object into another language, or a different state, by slightly shifting some of the ingredients of the piece, rearranging them, transforming them to take on another materiality. I view the making process as a way of infiltrating the object in order to visualise aspects of its value and meaning without fundamentally changing its standard format.
While working in other media and object types I have always continued making jewellery and in particular beaded necklaces. Pretty much any material or process that I've started working in has resulted in the making of new necklaces as well. I don't invent new forms for this jewellery piece, on the contrary; I use the existing format of the standard necklace as a template. What other people might find boring, I find interesting: the fact that "the beaded necklace is everywhere and belongs to everyone" as Benjamin Lignel says in an essay on my work; it's basic principles are still the same as they were in the first objects that were found and identified as beads.
Beads have always had a strong significance for people that were wearing them, and depending on the materials they were made of they were worn for medicinal or magical reasons, for protection, or as a hunting trophee. They were carrying clear messages about the social position of the wearer within their society. Nowadays this significance might be more personal and lie in the realm of the gift and the souvenir, people are still attached in an intimite way to jewellery pieces that do not look any different from what everyone else is wearing. Despite the fact that the way we interact with objects is to a large degree defined by all kinds of conventions and form, we do perceive our relationships with these things as highly individual; every standard wedding ring looks the same, yet the value we attach to it is a very personal one; I find this an interesting contradiction. - Manon van Kouswijk
2007 / 2014
A display of 20 jewellery pieces made of glow in the dark materials:
Fimo / sculpey, sheet, beads, thread.
In my work I am looking for a space between the general and the personal, between me as a maker and the jewel as an object that has a history and significance of its own, and that offers a space for someone else to identify with it and wear it as an extension of their personality.
Instead of being a very present author I try to operate more like a kind of translator of an existing object into another language, or a different state, by slightly shifting some of the ingredients of the piece, rearranging them, transforming them to take on another materiality. I view the making process as a way of infiltrating the object in order to visualise aspects of its value and meaning without fundamentally changing its standard format.
While working in other media and object types I have always continued making jewellery and in particular beaded necklaces. Pretty much any material or process that I've started working in has resulted in the making of new necklaces as well. I don't invent new forms for this jewellery piece, on the contrary; I use the existing format of the standard necklace as a template. What other people might find boring, I find interesting: the fact that "the beaded necklace is everywhere and belongs to everyone" as Benjamin Lignel says in an essay on my work; it's basic principles are still the same as they were in the first objects that were found and identified as beads.
Beads have always had a strong significance for people that were wearing them, and depending on the materials they were made of they were worn for medicinal or magical reasons, for protection, or as a hunting trophee. They were carrying clear messages about the social position of the wearer within their society. Nowadays this significance might be more personal and lie in the realm of the gift and the souvenir, people are still attached in an intimite way to jewellery pieces that do not look any different from what everyone else is wearing. Despite the fact that the way we interact with objects is to a large degree defined by all kinds of conventions and form, we do perceive our relationships with these things as highly individual; every standard wedding ring looks the same, yet the value we attach to it is a very personal one; I find this an interesting contradiction. - Manon van Kouswijk
Avondwinkel or ‘night shop’ by Dutch artist and now Melbourne resident, Manon van Kouswijk, was originally shown in Amsterdam back in 2007. For the Personal Space Project, van Kouswijk has revisited this work, presenting a new iteration of the 'night shop' with additional pieces and a purpose built window height display.
Van Kouswijk has established a career exploring the archetypes of jewellery by creating works that use everyday media such as wood, porcelain and office supplies, often in place of more traditional jewellery materials. So it is perhaps not surprising that an anecdote about uranium glass beads that glow in the dark, told to her during her studies, has struck a long lasting cord.
These days one might associate ‘glow in the dark’ with kids toys or techno dance parties, but in this translation of a classic jewellery oeuvre van Kouswijk treats this function of the material with a far more sympathetic and elegant touch.
This installation mimics the typical jewellery shop window and at first it appears like a faded snapshot of a once glamorous past, a moment stuck in time, van Kouswijk's objects, however, rather than glimmering and sparkling are lacklustre, ghosts of their former lives. But as the evening descends, a change can be seen. In the darkness these pieces radiate from within. Van Kouswijk's window display is no longer dull or nostalgic, but alive with potential energy. - ZB
Van Kouswijk has established a career exploring the archetypes of jewellery by creating works that use everyday media such as wood, porcelain and office supplies, often in place of more traditional jewellery materials. So it is perhaps not surprising that an anecdote about uranium glass beads that glow in the dark, told to her during her studies, has struck a long lasting cord.
These days one might associate ‘glow in the dark’ with kids toys or techno dance parties, but in this translation of a classic jewellery oeuvre van Kouswijk treats this function of the material with a far more sympathetic and elegant touch.
This installation mimics the typical jewellery shop window and at first it appears like a faded snapshot of a once glamorous past, a moment stuck in time, van Kouswijk's objects, however, rather than glimmering and sparkling are lacklustre, ghosts of their former lives. But as the evening descends, a change can be seen. In the darkness these pieces radiate from within. Van Kouswijk's window display is no longer dull or nostalgic, but alive with potential energy. - ZB
RAEWYN WALSH
MAY 2014
Dysfunctional Family (2013) - Found spoons, silver plate, flock, oxidized patina
Context is everything and the Tiptop ad for the ice-cream Trumpet cone claims that you must be in sight of the water for togs to be togs*: and not underwear. How far from the body could a work be before it left the realms of jewellery and becomes object, sculpture; an autonomous thing, and how might the conditions of contemporary jewellery and sculpture overlap? - RW *(is a colloquial term in OZ/NZ for a swimming costume)
Raewyn Walsh’s series Dysfunctional Family presents a teasing riddle. Are these pieces jewellery, sculpture or merely flatware whose function has been forcibly retired? There are hints and allegations, but there seem to be no answers. I get the feeling Walsh likes it that way.
Each piece has a small hole right near the tip of the handle, is it for hanging on a wall, or for the addition of a string to hang around a neck? Do we only assume a possible ‘jewellery’ reading because of its current context, a jewellery gallery (albeit one situated in a bedroom), or that we know the maker is a jeweller? Of course jewellers don’t only make jewellery, and jewellery galleries need not only too show jewellery.
What then do we think of these spoons that have been removed from the kitchen, taken to the studio, reworked, plated, flocked, blackened, polished and made matte. Now flown across the sea from New Zealand to a gallery in Australia’s capital city? How far away from their origins can they go before they loose their intended meaning and gain another reading entirely? At what stage did we possibly leave the body behind? Does that even matter? Why are they like this and not like that?
I have purposely installed these works flat and accessible, so that at least some of these riddles may exist to be explored and pondered over and over. - ZB
Context is everything and the Tiptop ad for the ice-cream Trumpet cone claims that you must be in sight of the water for togs to be togs*: and not underwear. How far from the body could a work be before it left the realms of jewellery and becomes object, sculpture; an autonomous thing, and how might the conditions of contemporary jewellery and sculpture overlap? - RW *(is a colloquial term in OZ/NZ for a swimming costume)
Raewyn Walsh’s series Dysfunctional Family presents a teasing riddle. Are these pieces jewellery, sculpture or merely flatware whose function has been forcibly retired? There are hints and allegations, but there seem to be no answers. I get the feeling Walsh likes it that way.
Each piece has a small hole right near the tip of the handle, is it for hanging on a wall, or for the addition of a string to hang around a neck? Do we only assume a possible ‘jewellery’ reading because of its current context, a jewellery gallery (albeit one situated in a bedroom), or that we know the maker is a jeweller? Of course jewellers don’t only make jewellery, and jewellery galleries need not only too show jewellery.
What then do we think of these spoons that have been removed from the kitchen, taken to the studio, reworked, plated, flocked, blackened, polished and made matte. Now flown across the sea from New Zealand to a gallery in Australia’s capital city? How far away from their origins can they go before they loose their intended meaning and gain another reading entirely? At what stage did we possibly leave the body behind? Does that even matter? Why are they like this and not like that?
I have purposely installed these works flat and accessible, so that at least some of these riddles may exist to be explored and pondered over and over. - ZB
CLAIRE McARDLE
APRIL 2014
Sunscreen (2014) - crushed beach stones, wood, hemp (largest 150x130x40mm)
In our land girt by sea the beach has played a large role in the shaping of a national identity. There has been a constant companion on the long summer days. An invisible barrier to a beloved enemy. It creates a physical shield to protect our soft skin from the rays blazing through our ozone poor atmosphere. Keys, wallet, phone, sunscreen. - Claire McArdle 2014
I find it difficult not to tout the brilliance of Claire McArdle. Her work is smart, witty and loaded with subtle nuances. It is immaculately crafted and so deeply considered. McArdle has the ability to make her thoroughly time-consuming work seem effortless; there is an air of familiarity, as if they had always existed.
Her arsenal of techniques and materials is vast and the breadth of her approach is extraordinary. Her work touches on the notion of value, identity and perception. She has been known to take a performative and unconventional approach to her exhibition display. And more recently has begun to explore the cultural icons of our fair country.
The success of McArdle’s practice lies in her ability to marry her remarkable way of seeing the world with the historical language of jewellery. McAardle handles this intersection so effortlessly and the work on display for the Personal Space Project is no exception.
If you start to unpack just a fraction of the possibilities that this work alludes to, images of childhood nostalgia emerge; of beach holidays, of smells, of sand sticking to your freshly applied arms and legs. The work also speaks of amulets, of protection from our ever-harsh environment, from the unseen deadly rays and the implications of spending too long in the Australian sun. Or perhaps it is simply, homage to the humble sunscreen. - zb
In our land girt by sea the beach has played a large role in the shaping of a national identity. There has been a constant companion on the long summer days. An invisible barrier to a beloved enemy. It creates a physical shield to protect our soft skin from the rays blazing through our ozone poor atmosphere. Keys, wallet, phone, sunscreen. - Claire McArdle 2014
I find it difficult not to tout the brilliance of Claire McArdle. Her work is smart, witty and loaded with subtle nuances. It is immaculately crafted and so deeply considered. McArdle has the ability to make her thoroughly time-consuming work seem effortless; there is an air of familiarity, as if they had always existed.
Her arsenal of techniques and materials is vast and the breadth of her approach is extraordinary. Her work touches on the notion of value, identity and perception. She has been known to take a performative and unconventional approach to her exhibition display. And more recently has begun to explore the cultural icons of our fair country.
The success of McArdle’s practice lies in her ability to marry her remarkable way of seeing the world with the historical language of jewellery. McAardle handles this intersection so effortlessly and the work on display for the Personal Space Project is no exception.
If you start to unpack just a fraction of the possibilities that this work alludes to, images of childhood nostalgia emerge; of beach holidays, of smells, of sand sticking to your freshly applied arms and legs. The work also speaks of amulets, of protection from our ever-harsh environment, from the unseen deadly rays and the implications of spending too long in the Australian sun. Or perhaps it is simply, homage to the humble sunscreen. - zb
BRIDGET KENNEDY
MARCH 2014
Bridget Kennedy’s hands are always busy; in fact Bridget Kennedy is always busy. With an appropriately apprehensive view about the future of our environment and a thoroughly questioning mind, Kennedy responds by filling her life with making. Making do with what she has, reusing and repurposing the old, the lengths of her resourcefulness are stunning. This plays into her practice as a jeweller, her works regularly use the mundane to explore and question how we consume our resources, our time, our money and our energy.
Like much of Kennedy’s practice the works on display are drawn directly from her life and experience. However these particular pieces investigate more profoundly personal memories. Struck by tragedy and a curiously spiritual moment for the artist, these works were conceived specifically for and about the space in which we allow ourselves to be our most vulnerable, the bedroom. By just glancing at the forms and the materials that the works are constructed from such as, ancestral linen, embroidery thread and beeswax from a diseased beehive, you might start to construct a narrative that delves into past histories and sufferings but also speaks clearly of solidarity in embracing domestic actions. These are beautiful and deeply moving pieces, full of subtle nuances and intimate thoughts. - ZB
Like much of Kennedy’s practice the works on display are drawn directly from her life and experience. However these particular pieces investigate more profoundly personal memories. Struck by tragedy and a curiously spiritual moment for the artist, these works were conceived specifically for and about the space in which we allow ourselves to be our most vulnerable, the bedroom. By just glancing at the forms and the materials that the works are constructed from such as, ancestral linen, embroidery thread and beeswax from a diseased beehive, you might start to construct a narrative that delves into past histories and sufferings but also speaks clearly of solidarity in embracing domestic actions. These are beautiful and deeply moving pieces, full of subtle nuances and intimate thoughts. - ZB
In The Dark Of The Night I Think Of You.
These works explore the intimate, personal, physical space of their display – the bedroom, the most intimate of rooms, where we strip bare, physically, emotionally, mentally.
Vulnerable, alone but not alone.
Anxieties cause restlessness, fears, hopes, bubble to the surface
at the most inconsiderate of times
prodding us awake when all we want to do is sleep
personal and shared, the most intimate of pleasures
we whisper our dreams both real and imagined
to the universe, to each other
to ourselves, we recall our loss
Sometimes the incomprehensible greatness speaks back
past, present and future collide,
a slippage, an opening,
the intensity of this moment is carried, forever.
you awake, alone.
- Bridget Kennedy 2014
These works explore the intimate, personal, physical space of their display – the bedroom, the most intimate of rooms, where we strip bare, physically, emotionally, mentally.
Vulnerable, alone but not alone.
Anxieties cause restlessness, fears, hopes, bubble to the surface
at the most inconsiderate of times
prodding us awake when all we want to do is sleep
personal and shared, the most intimate of pleasures
we whisper our dreams both real and imagined
to the universe, to each other
to ourselves, we recall our loss
Sometimes the incomprehensible greatness speaks back
past, present and future collide,
a slippage, an opening,
the intensity of this moment is carried, forever.
you awake, alone.
- Bridget Kennedy 2014
1/ In the dark of the Night (2014)
embroidery frame, oxidised sterling silver, ancestral linen, embroidery thread, beeswax from a diseased beehive, paint, ink, glue
2/ I think of you (2014)
embroidery frame, sterling silver, ancestral linen, parts from ancestral wedding bouquet, embroidery thread, beeswax, paint, ink, glue
embroidery frame, oxidised sterling silver, ancestral linen, embroidery thread, beeswax from a diseased beehive, paint, ink, glue
2/ I think of you (2014)
embroidery frame, sterling silver, ancestral linen, parts from ancestral wedding bouquet, embroidery thread, beeswax, paint, ink, glue
CAZ GUINEY
FEBURARY 2014
Caz Guiney likes to poke, prod and question the status quo. By making works that are loaded to the brim and often wickedly funny, she explores the notion of value in everyday objects and has a penchant for finding preciousness in the discarded refuse of others. It is ill advised to remain passive when viewing her work and these pieces on display at the Personal Space Project are no exception.
In this work Guiney explores the difficult and perhaps even ethical situation that many jewellers face; what do you do when you have a potential goldmine just casually tucked away in boxes under your bed? As jewellers we create artwork on a small scale and as such the vast amount of work that can be stored in shoeboxes is actually rather surprising. This stockpile is often jokingly referred to as the ‘retirement fund’, as you can always cash in or reuse precious metals. These artworks are of course worth far more than just the materials they are made from, but when ideas move beyond the point of the relevance, interest or price range of the artist, is it so unreasonable to think the unthinkable? To take apart something you so carefully put together.
It is important to note that the pieces on display here are not jewellery. These are new works of art that make use of old work as a part of the overall collage. These repurposed pieces are from Precious Nothing (2008), a significant solo exhibition by Guiney, in which she cast in 18ct gold an array of sometimes-questionable detritus sourced from the public realm. Their new context alludes to their past as once wearable objects, but removes their intended functionality altogether. These are really interesting pieces, not only do they explore the question of an artists moral obligation toward their own work, but how changing the context can create new stories with lingering histories. - ZB
In this work Guiney explores the difficult and perhaps even ethical situation that many jewellers face; what do you do when you have a potential goldmine just casually tucked away in boxes under your bed? As jewellers we create artwork on a small scale and as such the vast amount of work that can be stored in shoeboxes is actually rather surprising. This stockpile is often jokingly referred to as the ‘retirement fund’, as you can always cash in or reuse precious metals. These artworks are of course worth far more than just the materials they are made from, but when ideas move beyond the point of the relevance, interest or price range of the artist, is it so unreasonable to think the unthinkable? To take apart something you so carefully put together.
It is important to note that the pieces on display here are not jewellery. These are new works of art that make use of old work as a part of the overall collage. These repurposed pieces are from Precious Nothing (2008), a significant solo exhibition by Guiney, in which she cast in 18ct gold an array of sometimes-questionable detritus sourced from the public realm. Their new context alludes to their past as once wearable objects, but removes their intended functionality altogether. These are really interesting pieces, not only do they explore the question of an artists moral obligation toward their own work, but how changing the context can create new stories with lingering histories. - ZB
This series examines the process of revisiting old jewellery projects and explores the possibility of liberating them from the archival tissue, the zip lock bag and bubble wrap to give them another opportunity to shine, communicate and tell stories.
The particular project from which these works have been emancipated is Precious Nothing (2008). The original body of work although made entirely of 18ct yellow gold was inspired by a city’s seemingly non-precious street life; both its intimate, and its very public spaces.
Too much beautiful, valuable 18ct yellow gold in boxes in cupboards on shelves, neither worn nor seen, neither admired nor despised… posed a couple of questions…. modify, melt or convert to cash?
I decided to begin with the least interventionist approach by exploring ‘modify’. The actual pieces themselves are only slightly modified to enable a new context for each of the works. This new context may initiate fresh conversations with a new audience before the ‘melt’ question is explored further. - Caz Guiney 2014
1 / that's my name don't wear it out (2014)
wooden plate, knitting pattern models, succulent models, 18ct gold chewing gum brooch from 2008 exhibition Precious Nothing
2 / i know you are but what am i (2014)
wooden plate, knitting pattern models, succulent models, 18ct gold safety pin brooch from 2008 exhibition Precious Nothing
3 / your dumb and i'm not (2014)
wooden plate, knitting pattern models, succulent models, 18ct gold toilet paper brooch from 2008 exhibition Precious Nothing
The particular project from which these works have been emancipated is Precious Nothing (2008). The original body of work although made entirely of 18ct yellow gold was inspired by a city’s seemingly non-precious street life; both its intimate, and its very public spaces.
Too much beautiful, valuable 18ct yellow gold in boxes in cupboards on shelves, neither worn nor seen, neither admired nor despised… posed a couple of questions…. modify, melt or convert to cash?
I decided to begin with the least interventionist approach by exploring ‘modify’. The actual pieces themselves are only slightly modified to enable a new context for each of the works. This new context may initiate fresh conversations with a new audience before the ‘melt’ question is explored further. - Caz Guiney 2014
1 / that's my name don't wear it out (2014)
wooden plate, knitting pattern models, succulent models, 18ct gold chewing gum brooch from 2008 exhibition Precious Nothing
2 / i know you are but what am i (2014)
wooden plate, knitting pattern models, succulent models, 18ct gold safety pin brooch from 2008 exhibition Precious Nothing
3 / your dumb and i'm not (2014)
wooden plate, knitting pattern models, succulent models, 18ct gold toilet paper brooch from 2008 exhibition Precious Nothing
NINA BAKER
DECEMBER 2013
Nina Baker - I treat this material, this acrylic school and office carpet with rhythm, music and movement. Each stroke of the brush imbues this square with spirit and liveliness. The carpet responds wildly, avidly, happy and free.
1 / Big Muff , Brooch, 2013 - Acrylic carpet, watercolour paint and oxidised sterling silver 135mm x 110mm x 15mm
2 / Office Frazzle, Brooch, 2013 - Acrylic carpet, watercolour paint and oxidised sterling silver 95mm x 80mm x 20mm
3 / Green School Carpet, Brooch, 2013 - Acrylic carpet, watercolour paint and oxidised sterling silver 110mm x 100mm x 15mm
4 / Holey Grey, Brooch, 2013 - Acrylic carpet, watercolour paint and oxidised sterling silver 110mm x 90mm x 20mm
Nina Baker is a spirited character, full or vigor, unexpected affinities and a penchant for all things cosmic. Baker draws much of her inspiration from the urban landscape and the often-mundane actions of inner-city life. However, spend some time with her and you get a strong feeling that her she belongs or desires somewhere more natural, perhaps the bush, mountains, beach or desert.
Baker has just recently come back from exploring the world, where among other things, she attended the NOW ROOTS workshop with Ruudt Peters. This workshop was pegged at investigating the identity of the maker, as well as exploring ones personal roots and allowing the subconscious to take hold, all within the context of contemporary jewellery.
The work on display is the resulting explorations from this experience. Challenged by Peters to work with just the one material, fittingly in this case utilitarian office and school carpet squares, Baker has allowed the natural action, rhythm and motion of a steel brush through fibers to generate these visceral, yet somewhat familiar forms. - ZB
1 / Big Muff , Brooch, 2013 - Acrylic carpet, watercolour paint and oxidised sterling silver 135mm x 110mm x 15mm
2 / Office Frazzle, Brooch, 2013 - Acrylic carpet, watercolour paint and oxidised sterling silver 95mm x 80mm x 20mm
3 / Green School Carpet, Brooch, 2013 - Acrylic carpet, watercolour paint and oxidised sterling silver 110mm x 100mm x 15mm
4 / Holey Grey, Brooch, 2013 - Acrylic carpet, watercolour paint and oxidised sterling silver 110mm x 90mm x 20mm
Nina Baker is a spirited character, full or vigor, unexpected affinities and a penchant for all things cosmic. Baker draws much of her inspiration from the urban landscape and the often-mundane actions of inner-city life. However, spend some time with her and you get a strong feeling that her she belongs or desires somewhere more natural, perhaps the bush, mountains, beach or desert.
Baker has just recently come back from exploring the world, where among other things, she attended the NOW ROOTS workshop with Ruudt Peters. This workshop was pegged at investigating the identity of the maker, as well as exploring ones personal roots and allowing the subconscious to take hold, all within the context of contemporary jewellery.
The work on display is the resulting explorations from this experience. Challenged by Peters to work with just the one material, fittingly in this case utilitarian office and school carpet squares, Baker has allowed the natural action, rhythm and motion of a steel brush through fibers to generate these visceral, yet somewhat familiar forms. - ZB
DUKE FROST
NOVEMBER 2013
Duke Frost - 2013
The house of their hostility was modestly furnished with affection.
brass, paint, rope
You might call Duke Frost an enigma. He comes and goes as he pleases, but is always available when called upon. He has an obsession with Quantum Physics. He enjoys quark particles because they come in six flavours: up, down, charm, strange, truth and beauty. He thinks this is a most excellent way of describing his short existence. Frost makes a habit of collecting words, drinking whiskey for breakfast and is adamant about offering his seat to elderly passengers on the train. He knows very little about a lot of things, perhaps you might invite him to trivia, but you wouldn’t pick him for cricket.
Frost has instructed that his neckpiece be hung on the bedroom door and occasionally worn out in public.
This should be interesting. ZB
The house of their hostility was modestly furnished with affection.
brass, paint, rope
You might call Duke Frost an enigma. He comes and goes as he pleases, but is always available when called upon. He has an obsession with Quantum Physics. He enjoys quark particles because they come in six flavours: up, down, charm, strange, truth and beauty. He thinks this is a most excellent way of describing his short existence. Frost makes a habit of collecting words, drinking whiskey for breakfast and is adamant about offering his seat to elderly passengers on the train. He knows very little about a lot of things, perhaps you might invite him to trivia, but you wouldn’t pick him for cricket.
Frost has instructed that his neckpiece be hung on the bedroom door and occasionally worn out in public.
This should be interesting. ZB
ROSEANNE BARTLEY
OCTOBER 2013
ROSEANNE BARTLEY
SEEDING THE CLOUD
A roving environmental jewellery project devised to activate a creative response to the burgeoning issue of waste plastic within the environment.
"Seeding the Cloud: A Walking Work in Process, is ongoing project I began in 2010. Initially performed solo, the procedure involves walking, collecting and; ‘seeding’ fragments of waste plastic for the duration of a thread. Through repeat performances I materialize a threaded trace of my neighbourhood. I devised a booklet of instructions and began to invite people to join me in performing the process, I encourage them to redo the project in their own neighbourhood and network, enabling the concept to spread and morph with each rendition. The project seeks to engage people and site in a manner that honours the knowledge base from which it arises. It employs jewellery’s intimate nature as the key through which to create an encounter with a larger environmental concern, thus proposing a more complex role for jewellery in contemporary life." - ROSEANNE BARTLEY SEEDING THE CLOUD BLOG
SEEDING THE CLOUD
A roving environmental jewellery project devised to activate a creative response to the burgeoning issue of waste plastic within the environment.
"Seeding the Cloud: A Walking Work in Process, is ongoing project I began in 2010. Initially performed solo, the procedure involves walking, collecting and; ‘seeding’ fragments of waste plastic for the duration of a thread. Through repeat performances I materialize a threaded trace of my neighbourhood. I devised a booklet of instructions and began to invite people to join me in performing the process, I encourage them to redo the project in their own neighbourhood and network, enabling the concept to spread and morph with each rendition. The project seeks to engage people and site in a manner that honours the knowledge base from which it arises. It employs jewellery’s intimate nature as the key through which to create an encounter with a larger environmental concern, thus proposing a more complex role for jewellery in contemporary life." - ROSEANNE BARTLEY SEEDING THE CLOUD BLOG
PERSONAL SPACE PROJECT DOES ROSEANNE BARTLEY'S SEEDING THE CLOUD PROJECT.
I have to admit I'm a bit of a Roseanne Bartley FAN GIRL. When I first started studying way back when, I was drawn to jewellers whose practices weren't just object based, while it's clear nothing has changed, back then I was a fresh faced, clean slate student who knew nothing about contemporary jewellery. It was around this time that I had to write an assignment about an exemplar in the jewellery field whose practice I most wanted to aligned my own with. Of course I pretty much wanted to be Roseanne Bartley, so I chose to research and write about her performance based practice and see if I couldn't gain some insight into her thoroughly thoughtful genius.
Needless to say I was particularly thrilled when Roseanne agreed to the PERSONAL SPACE PROJECT hosting her 'Seeding the Cloud' project. During the month of October I will be learning the ropes and taking 'Seeding the Cloud' walking tours around Canberra, with the outcome of these walks put on display in each of the participants own bedrooms. This will be documented and posted here on the website (see below). Roseanne and I will also be e-mailing each other questions about the project over the coming weeks and the text of these will also uploaded here during the month. - ZB
ps. I'll see if I can't dig out that old assignment of mine...
I have to admit I'm a bit of a Roseanne Bartley FAN GIRL. When I first started studying way back when, I was drawn to jewellers whose practices weren't just object based, while it's clear nothing has changed, back then I was a fresh faced, clean slate student who knew nothing about contemporary jewellery. It was around this time that I had to write an assignment about an exemplar in the jewellery field whose practice I most wanted to aligned my own with. Of course I pretty much wanted to be Roseanne Bartley, so I chose to research and write about her performance based practice and see if I couldn't gain some insight into her thoroughly thoughtful genius.
Needless to say I was particularly thrilled when Roseanne agreed to the PERSONAL SPACE PROJECT hosting her 'Seeding the Cloud' project. During the month of October I will be learning the ropes and taking 'Seeding the Cloud' walking tours around Canberra, with the outcome of these walks put on display in each of the participants own bedrooms. This will be documented and posted here on the website (see below). Roseanne and I will also be e-mailing each other questions about the project over the coming weeks and the text of these will also uploaded here during the month. - ZB
ps. I'll see if I can't dig out that old assignment of mine...
'SEEDING THE CLOUD' IN IRAN!
I love the internet. I also love that the Personal Space Project has managed to spread so far and inspire someone across the world to produce their own version of Roseanne Bartley's 'Seeding the Cloud' project! It feels pretty damn good! Annelise Illingworth of WIT MYT has been 'Seeding the Cloud' in Iran follow the link to read more about her encounter with the 'SEEDING THE CLOUD' project. |
SHARON FITNESS
SEPTEMBER 2013
SHARON FITNESS - NEW ZEALAND
Does contemporary jewellery enjoy people looking at it all the time? What does contemporary jewellery see when it looks out at the world? Does it judge the people that other jewelleries are wearing? Does it take pleasure in surprising the masses, teaching ordinary people how to make Snow Brooches and generally illustrating that there is intelligent jewellery life out there? What is it thinking? Does it just want to switch off sometimes? - Sharon Fitness
1 / Jeweller Attempts to Observe The World From Neckpiece Eye View, 2013.
Felt, 7" Tablet, 1:52 video loop. 160 x 510 x 30mm (video link)
2 / The How To Make A Snow Brooch Neckpiece, 2013.
Felt, 7" Tablet, 0:47s video loop. 160x510x30mm (video link)
I find New Zealand jeweller Sharon Fitness to be an unapologetic force of joy, consideration, colour, enthusiasm and material appropriation. Her work never, and I mean never ceases to delight me. This work comes fresh off the back of a two-year mentorship with polarizing contemporary jeweller Lisa Walker as a part of the HANDSHAKE: Prentice & Prodigy tour de force. Fitness continues her practice of observing the world through different coloured glasses and enjoys posing many questions to her sometimes-unsuspecting audience, through her jewellery.
For this inaugural PERSONAL SPACE PROJECT exhibition there was no doubt in my mind that I would ask Fitness to kick it off. She happily obliged and has delivered two felt neckpieces that contain electronic tablets that display continuous video loops. In Jeweller Attempts to Observe The World From Neckpiece Eye View, Fitness, stares foo like out of the neckpiece, eyes scanning her surroundings; up, down, left, right, blink, blink. What does this piece see when it looks out at the world?
Also on display is The How To Make A Snow Brooch Neckpiece, this is a humorous work. This piece shows Fitness instructing her audience on how to make a brooch out of snow. Scraping it up, molding it in her hands, and slapping it on her chest, finally looking to the camera satisfied, while she dusts off her hands. The brooch looks good, cool even. Only, moments later it falls to the ground, leaving only a few small, soon to melt, specks of snow on her black coat. I can watch this piece over and over and still let out an audible chuckle every time.
Sharon Fitness makes me happy. She has an incredible honesty and genuine enthusiasm for her profession, peers and practice. Her work makes me think and question why. It often makes me want to touch, stroke or prod it. It makes me laugh out loud but also smile quietly, nodding my head in absolute solidarity. She makes me glad that there are people like her in the world, showing us her jaunty but thoughtful take on life.
- ZB
Does contemporary jewellery enjoy people looking at it all the time? What does contemporary jewellery see when it looks out at the world? Does it judge the people that other jewelleries are wearing? Does it take pleasure in surprising the masses, teaching ordinary people how to make Snow Brooches and generally illustrating that there is intelligent jewellery life out there? What is it thinking? Does it just want to switch off sometimes? - Sharon Fitness
1 / Jeweller Attempts to Observe The World From Neckpiece Eye View, 2013.
Felt, 7" Tablet, 1:52 video loop. 160 x 510 x 30mm (video link)
2 / The How To Make A Snow Brooch Neckpiece, 2013.
Felt, 7" Tablet, 0:47s video loop. 160x510x30mm (video link)
I find New Zealand jeweller Sharon Fitness to be an unapologetic force of joy, consideration, colour, enthusiasm and material appropriation. Her work never, and I mean never ceases to delight me. This work comes fresh off the back of a two-year mentorship with polarizing contemporary jeweller Lisa Walker as a part of the HANDSHAKE: Prentice & Prodigy tour de force. Fitness continues her practice of observing the world through different coloured glasses and enjoys posing many questions to her sometimes-unsuspecting audience, through her jewellery.
For this inaugural PERSONAL SPACE PROJECT exhibition there was no doubt in my mind that I would ask Fitness to kick it off. She happily obliged and has delivered two felt neckpieces that contain electronic tablets that display continuous video loops. In Jeweller Attempts to Observe The World From Neckpiece Eye View, Fitness, stares foo like out of the neckpiece, eyes scanning her surroundings; up, down, left, right, blink, blink. What does this piece see when it looks out at the world?
Also on display is The How To Make A Snow Brooch Neckpiece, this is a humorous work. This piece shows Fitness instructing her audience on how to make a brooch out of snow. Scraping it up, molding it in her hands, and slapping it on her chest, finally looking to the camera satisfied, while she dusts off her hands. The brooch looks good, cool even. Only, moments later it falls to the ground, leaving only a few small, soon to melt, specks of snow on her black coat. I can watch this piece over and over and still let out an audible chuckle every time.
Sharon Fitness makes me happy. She has an incredible honesty and genuine enthusiasm for her profession, peers and practice. Her work makes me think and question why. It often makes me want to touch, stroke or prod it. It makes me laugh out loud but also smile quietly, nodding my head in absolute solidarity. She makes me glad that there are people like her in the world, showing us her jaunty but thoughtful take on life.
- ZB