C O N T E M P O R A R YJ E W E L L E R Y

Pushing The Boundaries 2013

Emily Arlotte Sophie Carnell Melany Franklin Ella Knight Livio Muench Megan Perkins Gabbee Stolp Anna M WilliamsEmma Bugg Janine Combes Shauna Mayben Swanson Alexandra Parish Emily Snadden Tanja von Behrens

Moving away from the traditional notions of jewellery as a display of wealth, stature and beauty, contemporary jewellers work with ideas of narrative and materiality, to rearrange our conception of value and of beauty, to tell stories of politics and trauma, nature and society; they create art that is more than just decorative and wearable, it is also meaningful and challenging.

Pushing The Boundaries brings together a group of Tasmanian artists; professional contemporary jewellers, and new and upcoming artists, who are striving to challenge, not only society’s traditional idea of jewellery, but their own ideas. Pushing themselves and challenging themselves, using unfamiliar techniques and new materials, to create works of depth and meaning.

With this contribution to the ongoing evolution of Tasmanian contemporary jewellery these artists continue to build its acceptance as a legitimate art form.

E M i L Y A R LO T TE

i began this project knowing i wanted to make a ‘large’ piece of jewellery, as everything i regularly make is so small. i thought it would be a challenge to design something large, but i didn’t know it would be much less a process of designing and more a journey of intuitiveness.

With no specific outcome in mind, i collected my materials, made the components, and started. The piece developed on the mannequin, using the bones as strong supports and anchors, and evolved one connection at a time. A lot like travelling through life.

i wanted to explore the concept of existence and loss of such. Many past cultures used jewellery to take a part of their life with them to the grave. We give up everything when we die, but preserving life and memories is something many people find important, others may just want to look good if they are ever dug up. This jewellery piece incorporates these ideas.

Where is this piece best worn? To your own funeral.

CERMONY DRESS Emily Arlotte

H 1200mm x W 180mm x D 320mm Recycled Sterling Silver, Silver plated chain, Found Bones, Tourmalinated Quartz

S O P H i EC A R N E L L

Glass has always been my bowerbird compulsion. From collecting marbles and bottles of every hue, to creating installation works using float glass.

Glass is intriguing — it is a material of contrasts — fragility and strength, reflection and translucency, vulnerability and tension.

i value all these aspects of glass but also the respect that it demands from me as i wrestle it into new forms.

Having worked with glass at the larger sculptural scale it’s been a great adventure down-sizing to wearable dimensions…gaining the ability to melt and form small pieces of glass is a treat…watching the brittle glass melt and soften and move from straight sharp edges through to viscous organic shapes.

incorporating shattered windscreens — which themselves harbour an aura of danger and harm — and relocating these shards into the work, embedded in resin, somehow neutralizes the harshness of the medium and turns it into something altogether more peaceful.

But an aspect that i find most intriguing about using glass in the wearable realm is the tension of the threat of it against the skin. There is vulnerability both in the fragility of the glass and also the seemingly perilous sensation of glass next to the skin.

Just over 150 years ago there was a young woman who believed that as a child she’d swallowed a glass piano. i wonder what music it played to her as she moved around and how tenderly she must’ve lived her life with the threat of it shattering inside her.

SCHERZO Sophie Carnell

80mm x 20mm x 20mm Recycled sterling silver, system96 glass.

M E L A NY F R A N K L i N

According to the early teachings of the Buddha life is comparable to a river. it is a successive series of different moments joining together to give the impression of one continuous flow. The river we saw yesterday is not the same river as we see today. Our existence as individuals is in constant flux and is ever changing.

My work reflects my interest in Buddhist philosophy and yoga practice. i have created works using fairly traditional and simple techniques of roller printing and chain making primarily using sterling silver. The embellishments i have used in my work are ribbon and lace. These textiles are removable and can be changed, enabling the wearer the opportunity to interact with the work and perhaps even encouraging a sense of creativity in filling the space with different materials if so desired.

The work makes reference to the concept of chakra as well as the nature of impermanence and change. My work aims to remind us to be more flexible, open and accepting of change.

Everything changes in this world but flowers will open each spring just as usual (Soiku Shigematsu).

ANiCCA Melany Franklin

370mm x 20mm x 7mm Sterling silver, brass, ribbon, lace

E LL AK Ni GH T

i’m interested in exploring non-traditional materials for making jewellery. i generally start with a material and a bit of an idea, and through experimentation and playing, come objects which are then arranged to be wearable in an aesthetically pleasing way. Jewellery for me is a very sensual medium. When i am making my hands and eyes work together, and the success of a piece is as dependant on the tactile qualities as the visual.

STiTCHiNG SKELETON necklace no.1 Ella Knight

Pendant: 300mm × 300mm deconstructed netball

When i was young i was confused about my identity. My parents immigrated from other countries and i was born here. i didn’t have a strong sense of place.

it wasn’t until i traveled to other countries i realised that i was Australian and more specifically Tasmanian. With a deep love for this wild and beautiful land, i was always proud to say i was from Tasmania. While i love and respect the depth of culture and art that is my heritage, over time i have come to realise that my spirit was born from this place.

i am inspired by the richness and opulence of the baroque period with its guilded figures, furniture etc. The work ‘spirit of place’ has a thin skin of 23 and 24 k gold which represents layers of cultural back-ground over a cabochon formed from Huon pine, the spirit unseen.

This work required the fabrication of new tools, and exploration of new techniques. i choose to limit my palette to materials available in my studio or given by friends.

L i v i O Mu E N C H

SPiRiT OF PLACE Necklace Livio Muench

160mm x 100mm x 16mm recycled sterling silver, forged recycled copper electrical cable, Huon pine off cuts, gesso, gold size, red pigment, 23 and 24 k gold leaf.

My jewellery is a reflection of place. i am continually fascinated by pattern and repetition i see in my landscape and these forms influence my instincitive and material driven approach to making.

i have used this opporunity to deconstruct the rigid geometry of my recent work and explore more asymmetrical repetition inspired by fractured and overlapping rock formations.

Offcuts of Corian, a man-made material traditionally used for interiors, is sawn, sanded, drilled, repurposed as jewellery.

M E G A N P E R K i N S

SLATE BANGLE Megan Perkins

125mm x 100mm x 13mm Corian, adhevise, copper

G A B B E E S T O L P

Gabbee Stolp is a Hobart born artist, with a background in aged care nursing, jewellery design, and taxidermy, and a strong passion for science and nature.

Gabbee blends gold and silver-smithing with sculpture, to provoke ideas of the biological and the metaphysical, and the inseparability of life and death.

Gabbee is currently residing in Melbourne and studying Fine Arts, Object Based Practice at RMiT university.

Pearls (2013), pushes the boundaries by blending what is generally thought of as appealing and acceptable, with what may be considered taboo or grotesque.

it provokes the ideas of the morality of religion, and implores the viewer to consider their own morality from a more transcendental perspective.

PEARLS Gabbee Stolp

300mm x 20mm x 20mm Antique rosary beads, latex condoms, sterling silver.

A N N A M W i L L iA M S

i want to tell you a story about a fascinating event in the history of Paris: the 1449 invasion by a ravenous and ferocious pack of wolves, led by one especially savvy wolf.

The pack broke through the ancient walls, first attacking only children before their hunger drove them to pursue larger human prey. Over two years, they prowled the city, consuming 40 Parisians before, in desperation, the citizenry came up with a strategy to end the onslaught; they lured the pack onto the island in the Seine on which the recently built Notre Dame Cathedral sat. There, the animals were fatally speared and stoned and the city of Paris was once again wolf-free.

Wolves still cast an ominous shadow in Parisian cultural memory. The top right image is of an advertisement is of an advertisement on the Champs Elysees, wherein a model strolls elegantly across a bridge over the Seine, accompanied by a pack of wolves...... an image both edgy and beautiful.

i have tried to bring something of the beauty and savagery of this story to my neckpiece and earrings. The glass shard that is the focus of the neckpiece was picked up in June, near the Notre Dame. The dangerous sharp edges and the scratches have not been altered; maybe they are channelling just a little of the wolves’ spirit?

The beasts’ menacing eyes are etched into the copperplate on the dogcollar, the rings attached to the collar represent their slavering teeth, and the lone red drop symbolises the fatal outcomes for, initially, Parisians and finally, for the wolves.

The glass shard is surrounded by wrought iron (copper really), to evoke the sophisticated urban world that is Paris where this atrocity took place; the flower represents nature’s role in the contrived but irresistible charm of that city.

The etched attack wolves on the close-to-the-head earrings are not designed to relax the wearer.

i’m Anna M Williams, i make jewellery, all of it is original, and there is almost no consistency in style. i do not have an oeuvre. i’m just here to have fun.

Anna M Williams

Neckpiece 175mm x 120mm x 115mm Etched and patinated copper, mirror glass, epoxy putty, enamel paint and leather.

Earrings 21mm x 21mm x 13mm Etched patinated copper.

The Pushing the Boundaries exhibition allowed me freedom to play, to create a piece of jewellery that did not need to take into account the formal considerations of jewellery that is designed to sell in a gallery.

The nature of the industrial materials i’ve used observe current architectural trends, but do not have an intrinsic value of their own ($7.55 total). The value comes from the concept and time applied to constructing the artwork. There is considerably less longevity to the materials than in a piece of jewellery made with precious metals, and the only tools needed to make it were a paintbrush and a pair of flat nose pliers. A standard piece of jewellery i make would require me to handle around 18 different tools.

My previous work has included elements of technology that open up another level of experience to the jewellery. i have recently made pieces which have sterling silver QR codes embedded, leading the viewer to a secret website which becomes a platform for crowd participation. Jewellery that incorporates technology is something i am pursuing, with the desired outcome being to enhance the role jewellery plays in engaging people on a social platform and being a vessel for story telling.

i can imagine this piece working on a very large scale, perhaps as architectural pods where the “diamonds” become faceted windows.

E MM AB uG G

SuRvEY NECKLACE Emma Bugg

600mm x 300mm Polystyrene balls, concrete, faux diamonds, iron paint, brown string video NFS

i’m interested in how common and seemingly insignificant parts of the natural world can be ‘elevated’ to be seen as worthy of our attention and admired. Barnacles are not what most people think of as beautiful. But barnacles have long been recognised for their importance. The naturalist Charles Darwin, who came to Tasmania in 1836 and spent some time on Hobart’s Eastern Shore, collected barnacles as scientific specimens to take with him back to England. Barnacles are tough little creatures that cling tight but did you know they also travel? Eastern Shore Barnacles have been found as far away as Europe.

in these works i’ve pushed myself by using materials that i love but haven’t yet used in jewellery. i’ve made multiples of the works rather than one unique piece. The works are mini sculptures which may be worn but are equally at home on a wall. No longer dull, uninteresting or under a rock here barnacles gleam and dazzle.

Brass has often been associated with a nautical life and travel by sea.

The sequins and metallic fabrics are a flight of fantasy to lift the barnacles to their status as glam creatures.

And blue barnacles ... why not?

J A N i N E C O M BE S

BRASS BARNACLES Janine Combes

80mm x 45mm x 15mm brass, Japanese metallic fabric, sterling silver and stainless steel pin.

As a Jeweller i am fascinated with the relationship of jewellery and its function not only to adorn but its intrinsic value both emotional and monetary.

Jewellery throughout time has been used as a currency, transported and stored in the form of gold, diamonds, gemstones and other precious and rare materials. Originally the precious and semi-precious metals were made into coins and were used to negotiate and settle trades.

Money was gold and was worth gold. Through time the connection between money and gold has become less transparent.

i am currently working on series of pieces exploring the beauty and the social complexity of currency notes and coins; making art work directly from international paper currency and coins.

S H A u NA M A Y BE N S W AN S O N

Shauna Mayben Swanson

LOvE iS ABOuT TRuST 50mm x 75mm x 6mm brooch and wall piece i LOvE MONEY 45mm x 60mm x 6mm brooch and wall piece.

100% recycled silver, upcycled Perspex, paper currency.

i have been working with precious metal for the last 20 years but nowadays question the sustainability of silver and gold. Today, i have used plywood from eco ply and hardwood from my own trees cut down in my own garden, which have been replaced by many new ones. Wood can still be precious and sensual, but it is different to metal. Touching soft, sanded wood is an incredibly beautiful and sensual sensation.

A great challenge in this body of work was to let the material dictate the design.

usually i have the design idea in my head and then try to find the right material to match. Having to find a design to suit the material was a back-to-front approach.

i always look to nature for inspiration. The Tessellated Pavement in Eaglehawk Neck has been my inspiration for some time. i’m intrigued by the formation, texture and simplicity of the shapes, as well as how they were formed thousands of years ago and are still changing everyday. i am fascinated by this journey of where things have come from, where they are now and where they might be tomorrow. The new buds on a cherry tree, a perfect seed pod or a dead bird i find on a walk, all feed the artistic vessel inside me. A L E

x A ND R A P A Ri S H

SEA CREATuRE Alexandra Parish

39mm x 39mm x 35mm plywood

My studio based independent practice mostly involves commission works and the use of traditional materials (bridal jewellery and one of a kind heirloom pieces); generally my work is influenced by the natural environment, and local flora.

i am intrigued by the potential for natural flora to simulate/ suggest the form of the human body and implied gesture, i am interested in the way we respond to visual triggers and therefore interpret objects in various ways. This research is based on the theory of Simulacra (simulation) and occurrences of Pareidolia (where images/sounds — normally faces or the form of animals are perceived when viewing something, a face in a cloud for example).

i am interested in the (Pareidolic) resemblance of the native Salmon Gum (Eucalyptus Salmonophloia) to the human body; particularly through the suggestion of skin folds and muscle form within the bark and limbs.

Above/below is hand carved in Tasmanian huon pine which was used to reference the Salmon Gum, with gold, natural quartz and monel details, all of which are intended to suggest spring growth. The piece comprises three brooches, each of which is mounted onto an acrylic base. This base is also hand carved, from the rear with root/vein/ arterial like carvings which are intended to reference both plant growth and suggest blood flow — or life force.

These pieces are intended to challenge the notion of the wearable as the three objects are both artwork (when they are displayed with the bases upon the gallery wall) and wearable (once the brooches are removed and worn upon the body). i am intrigued by the idea that these conceptual pieces can be viewed equally are artworks and as wearable objects.

E M iL Y SN A DD E N

ABOvE/BELOW (1, 2 & 3) brooch series Emily Snadden

200mm x 100mm x 13mm (brooches approx: 75mm x 60mm x 15mm) Hand carved huon pine, monel,18 carat yellow gold, Green quartz, sterling silver, stainless steel and acrylic.

in preparing for ‘Pushing the Boundaries’, i knew that i wanted the opportunity to experiment — to incorporate materials that i wouldn’t usually use; to manipulate traditional techniques; and to re-interpret materials not usually associated with Jewellery-making.

Collecting materials that i was drawn to — like old nails, roof tiles, bits of wood and stones — i started to form ideas about how i wanted to use them. After a few sketches, multiple false starts and periods of intense frustration, however — i discovered that although a piece may look incredible in my mind before i start to create it — the reality of the materials used, and my ability (or lack thereof!) to manipulate them, will always shape the final outcome.

i’ve discovered that i’m not a blacksmith. i’m not a wood carver. i am far from a stone setting expert — but hell, i’m willing to try! There have definitely been times late at night, kneeling on the floor of the studio in my Darth vader-esque face mask & smashing slate tiles with a hammer, that i have questioned my sanity. i’m not sure that i knew just how much the process of preparing for this exhibition would push my boundaries — but it definitely has!

usually working in Sterling Silver and base metals, i am a Tasmanian-based Jeweller from Canberra, with my heart in many places. i work from a studio in the Salamanca Arts Centre, and am a member of The Art of Silver in Kelly’s Lane.

T A N JA v O N B E H RE N S

Tanja von Behrens

‘A TEST OF PATiENCE Neckpiece 120mm x 121mm x 5mm Brass, Tasmanian Black Spinel, Killikrankie Diamonds (Flinders island Topaz), Smoky Quartz & Neoprene

AN iRREGuLAR PAiR Earrings 50mm x 9mm x 8mm Brass, Tasmanian Black Spinel, Sterling Silver

LONE TRAvELLER Ring 28mm x 23mm x 10mm Brass, Tasmanian Black Spinel

All stones generously donated by Jai Hay, Jeweller.

Emily Arlotte www.emily-eliza.comSophie Carnell www.sophiecarnell.comMelany Franklin www.mellyfrank.comElla Knight www.magpiealchemy.comLivio Muench find me at www.theartofsilver.com.auMegan Perkins www.meganperkins.comGabbee Stolp find me on facebook - Gabbee-Stolp-Jewellery-and -Miscellaneous-ObjectsAnna M Williams www.annamwilliamsjewellery.comEmma Bugg www.emmabugg.comJanine Combes www.janinecombes.comShauna Mayben Swanson www.mayben.netAlexandra Parish www.alexparish.com.auEmily Snadden www.emilysnadden.comTanja von Behrens www.tanjavonbehrens.com

Web www.contemporaryjewellerytas.wordpress.cominstagram #contemporaryjewellerytas

CON TE POR ARYJEW ELL EY

Emily Arlotte Sophie Carnell Melany Franklin Ella Knight Livio Muench Megan Perkins Gabbee Stolp Anna M WilliamsEmma Bugg Janine Combes Shauna Mayben Swanson Alexandra Parish Emily Snadden Tanja von Behrens