Radical Jewellery Makeover Brisbane #2

Elizabeth Shaw, 2016, RJM Earrings, recycled and reused silver and semi precious stones. RJM Mexico Ring, silver. Image: Faun Photography.

​This is a pre Christmas exhibition with a difference. All of the works exhibited have been made from materials retreived from donated jewellery as a part of the Radical Jewellery Makeover.

The Radical Jewellery Makeover is an educational initiative of Ethical Metalsmiths and involves a call to the public to donate their unwanted jewellery. The donations are sorted and categorised to be deconstructed and become the raw materials to be reworked by a team of jewellers. The resulting works are heavily influenced by the donated materials, though the donors may no longer be able to recognise any elements of what they contributed. The jewellers get to work with materials they don't usually use and this proves an inspiration and challenge to develop new works that add value to the materials.

My contact with the Ethical Metalsmiths started in late 2006 when I emailed Christina Miller. I was in the process of making changes to the Jewellery Program at QCA and I was keen to talk to academics and researchers with shared interests. Christina was the first I found and we began conversing by email and mail. The conversations led to Christina and her collaborator Susie Ganch visiting QCA to host a Radical Jewellery Makeover in 2010. This was to be the first international RJM and the 4th in the ongoing series of the travelling community mining and recycling project that draws public attention to the creativity and skills of local jewellery designers, reveals the stories behind our personal collections and encourages re-consideration of our habits of consumption. I joined Susie and Christina to deliver an RJM in New Mexico in 2011. The 2016 Brisbane RJM is the second to be hosted in Australia and I have led it with the assistance of Clare Poppi a QCA Masters candidate. 

Some of the donated jewellery.

Xiaohui Yang, 2016, RJM Brooch, silver, stone, brass and aluminium. Image: Faun Photography.

Elizabeth Shaw, 2016, RJM Rings, recycled and reused silver and glass beads. Image: Faun Photography.

Clare Poppi, 2016, RJM Earrings, recycled sterling silver and wooden beads. Image: Faun Photography.

Nellie Peoples, 2016, RJM Brooch, silver, steel. Image: Faun Photography.

Elizabeth Shaw (L) Catherine Large (R), 2016, RJM Rings, 18ct Gold. Made from the same ring. Image: Faun Photography.

​The jewellers who are exhibiting RJM works in the current exhibition are: Alicia Lane, Alison Bruce, Catherine Large, Chloe Healy. Elizabeth Shaw, Juliana Platt, Katie Stormonth, Kierra-Jay Power, Lynda Shale, Melissa Stannard, Mia Wells, Nellie Peoples, Robyn Pell, Vivien Bedwell and Xiaohui Yang. Many more have been involved in the project. A big thank you to Lisa Brown from Faun Photography for documenting a lot of the jewellery made.