Sense of Place

The exhibition Sense of Place was exhibited at Grafton Regional Gallery 23 May - 14 July in 2019. It featured works from three contemporary jewellers, Maddison Bygrave, Kristina Gittins and Mia Wells. 

​I curated the exhibition around the idea of how jewellery frequently takes on the role of representing something or someone we hold dear.  In the case of Bygrave, Gittins and Wells their jewellery is representative of a place without specificity, but it is a place we all know, the coastline of Australia. While the artists approach their works in quite different ways, there is a common thread between their motivations. They share a respect and concern for the ocean and coastal environments and their works emphasise the preciousness of this place that is part of the greater Australian Identity. They share a concern about the responsible use of materials and this is manifested in their choice to prioritise the use of recycled sterling silver, and the reuse and repurposing of materials.

Thank you to Niomi Sands the Grafton Regional Gallery Director.
​
I have attached the catalogue at the bottom of this post. 

Mia Wells, Straight, Bend, Fragment, Repair and Regrow, 2017.

Sense of Place follows two previous exhibitions I have curated that have considered how environmental concerns are are being explored by contemporary jewellers. 

​In 2018 I curated Inhabiting  Sense of Place  for Glasshouse, Port Macquarie where it was on show from 13 October to 2 December. The exhibition featured works from Rebecca Ward (Maleny), Clare Poppi (Marburg) and Helen Wyatt (Sydney) whose jewellery through material and aesthetic choices evoke a sense of place. 

In 2010 I curated an exhibition for Redlands Gallery called Revisiting the Australian Landscape - interpreting the landscape on an intimate scale. The exhibition looked at how contemporary Queensland jewellers and metalsmiths were using the Australian landscape as the vehicle to express ideas of political and cultural location at a time of reassessment and reevaluation.  It occurred to me after installing Inhabiting Space that there was a clear relationship with the ideas I had explored in the 2010 exhibition. Rebecca Ward exhibited in both exhibitions. ​

gg2019_senseofplace_catalogue_170519.pdf
File Size:	1341 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

---