Melissa Cameron ✿ Jewellery at our feet-The use of found materials can focus our minds on the world at our feet. Melissa Cameron's new work, Marfa TX, turns this moment into singular jewellery.
Philip Noakes ✿ Silver from the West-The history of West Australian jewellery is well served by Dorothy Erickson, who has just published another substantial book on one of its leading exponents.
Mehrnoosh Ganji ✿ Soul Star Pendant-A film by Mark Newbound captures the quiet focus and skill involved in the jewellery craft of Mehrnoosh Ganji. Soul Star Pendant reflects the spiritual values underlying its production.
Emily Beckley ✿ A romantic side of the Torres Strait-The Garland journey has coincided with the evolution of the Indigenous Jewellery Project. Emily McCulloch Childs writes about the solo exhibition by Emily Beckley, demonstrating the potential of this important project.
“Ea” the goddess of the goldsmiths (jewellers) in Mesopotamia-Iranian jewellers draw inspiration from the female goddess figures that constitute the complex palimpsest of Persian culture. Here Roohollah Shamsizadeh (Aria Gallery) writes about one goddess who has special relevance to jewellery.
Liliana Ojeda ✿ November laurel-The November laurel goes to Chilean jewellery artist, Liliana Oleada. Her bold work uses her facility with materials to imagine internal forms within our body, making beauty from our hidden life forms.
Bin Dixon Ward ✿ Adding digital to the jeweller’s bench-Melbourne jeweller Bin Dixon Ward is fascinated by the relationship between digital technology, jewellery and its maker. She discusses the development of 3D printed jewellery including her own work in this field.
Greybilly ✿ Opal for the anthropocene-While Australia has the world's richest opal deposits, its potential as an artistic medium has been relatively unexplored. An exhibition at Nishi Gallery curated by Yasmin Masri takes a sideways look at opal from a post-mining boom perspective.
Drawing Out the Gold – A Crown of Alfalfa by Katheryn Leopoldseder-The Melbourne jeweller Katheryn Leopoldseder manages to make epic statements out of personal adornment. Here she pays homage to a Mexican scientist was able to develop alfalfa as a non-toxic form of gold-mining.
Persian Renaissance continues…-Global art jewellery is undergoing a Renaissance as non-Western artists are using this modern medium to renew past layers of their culture. Two Iranian artists are at the forefront of this. A recent exhibition of Ailin Abrisham and Baharak Omidfar give presence to the ancient goddess Anahita.
Filming Mehrnoosh Ganji’s magnificent new work-Mehrnoosh Ganji was our garlandee for the Persian Prospect issue. Here Mark Newbound records the artist her self as she delicately dis-assembles and re-assembles her new work, Golestan Palace.
Behnaz Barabarian: Love in the Qajar period-The Qajar dynasty ruled Iran in the nineteenth century. Their Turkic culture created quite a distinctive style in decorative arts. It is one of the many periods that contemporary Iranian jewellers draw on today as part of their historical palette.
Review of Use: Queensland contemporary jewellery, by Vivien Bedwell-Use addresses thematic connections jewellers have with their tools and the creations that follow through the extension of the body, further referencing the vital role fingers and hands play in each and every work in this exhibition.
Yuka Oyama: Helpers – Changing homes 🎞️-Yuka Oyama is producing a series of work “Helpers – Changing homes” in Wellington as part of a residency at Whiti o Rehua School of Art. This will be displayed at The Language of Things: Meanings and Value in Contemporary Jewellery, Dowse Museum in 24 February – 24 June 2018. Oyama just recently completed her PhD study The Stubborn Life of Object, which included a series of performances in which important objects become full body costumes. She has extended this in Aotearoa New Zealand for a project about the objects that migrants retain to keep a connection to the previous home. She then constructs a body-sized version of this for a future performance. This follows a similar path to her previous […]
Jess Dare’s eternal bloom: Sydney’s Martin Place memorial-The Adelaide jeweller Jess Dare has just completed a commission for Sydney's Martin Place. This memorial for victims of the Lindt Cafe siege contains 210 individual flowers set in glass cubes embedded in the pavement. This provides a permanent version of the sea of flowers that flooded the square in the wake of the tragedy.
How to Make a Necklace from a Chair – Sarah Read-One of New Zealand’s most interesting jewellers, Sarah Read has created a performance practice which explores the value of labour. In this project, she is stringing the polystyrene beads from a bean bag into an epic necklace form. It’s the kind of challenge you might imagine South Koreans like Yujin Eugénie Moon would appreciate. As automation removes our dependence on human labour, might we see its re-emergence in artistic forms like this? Source: The See Here
Quarterly essay: Embodied history 🎧-In the process of reconstructing the traditional midi necklace, Lisa Hilli finds a deeper understanding of her Tolai culture.
Pearls for the people in Fiji-Neke Moa writes about the project of Marama Shellcraft to provide livelihood for the people of Ba, Fiji.
I like reality. It doesn’t terrify me.-Being based in Aotearoa, NZ, I set out to explore the idea that there is something unidentifiable bubbling under the surface—something all at once mysterious and ugly and dark and beautiful. The idea was to tap into the current generation of Pacific-based makers, who are both following and updating the ground-breaking work of the bone, stone, shell jewellers. Someone once told me that Pacific themes and culture were impacting all forms of Pacific art, regardless of the cultural heritage of the maker. I wanted to see if this was true and if so how a series of disparate works would interact and speak to one another when brought together.
Taurangi-Keri-Mei Zagrobelna writes about Taurangi, her jewellery work that embodies Māori values of honour.
Island Welcome-Belinda Newick introduces Island Welcome, where Australian jewellers created leis to reflect on the quality of welcome currently extended by their country to refugees.
He tupare o ka kupu (a garland of words) 🎧-Andrew Last reflects on his identity has an Australian manuhiri (guest) in the South Island of Aotearoa and how he has creatively responded to his new home.
One brooch, one ring: Beijing International Jewellery Art Exhibition by Jun Xie-With the global rise of China comes its growing cultural and artistic influence. The recent international exhibition of art jewellery in Beijing is testament to their ambition. This could be a positive force for the region's craft and design communities.
Xocolatlummm: Wearable chocolate from Colombia-Our friend Ana Berrio shares another remarkable project of Colombian street jewellery. For Joya Barcelona recently, she made a cart decorated in typical style and sold body ornaments made from chocolate for €10 each. Xocolatlummm included artists Titi Berrio, Alejandra Ferrer and Liliana Molina. Check the Instagram account: A post shared by xocolatlummm (@xocolatlummm) on Oct 10, 2017 at 4:00pm PDT
The mysterious desert in new Persian jewellery-Putting on the jewellery that carries the nature of the desert, takes us to the journey to reach our inner jewel of silence, where we could sedately observe the truth of being. A new exhibition of jewellery from the region of Kerman gives unique expression to the mystical meaning of the desert in Persian culture.
Hellenic connections-Vicky Tsaconas considers the jewellers of Hellenic background that featured in Radiant Pavilion.
Julie Blyfield and Kirsten Coelho at Gallery Funaki-A collaboration between our inaugural garlandee Kirsten Coelho and Julie Blyfield transforms the humble archeological remnants of domestic life in South Australian mining towns. Source: Klimt02.net Ormolu by Julie Blyfield and Kirsten Coelho
Helen Wyatt: Life is revealed through layers-Helen Wyatt is a Sydney artist who first began making jewellery while studying Fine Arts at the University of Sydney in the 1970s. Mark Stiles spoke to her on the eve of her latest exhibition, Thresholds, at Studio 2017 Project Space, North Sydney
Complete me-Annie Gobel brings a collaborative Indonesian mindset to the Melbourne jewellery scene by offering "incomplete" pieces to willing partners.
Perhiasan = Jewellery-Elizabeth Shaw led an exchange involving Indonesian jewellers with diverse skills. She reveals a scene on the verge of formalisation, awaiting a national network and tertiary courses.
Jewellery for free-Vicki Mason discovers the power of jewellery as a currency to connect strangers together. She writes about her Broaching Change project and jewellery ventures done for love.
Jwahr: New Iranian and Persian Jewellery-This exhibition is a selection of work who have shown at Aria Gallery in Tehran. The work heralds a new generation of artists in the field of global art jewellery. Their work shows the capacity of jewellery to give personal meaning to lost traditions and stories.
Kate Hunter Remains-Sonja Anderson finds a Cairns jeweller who has returned home to celebrate the watery treasures offshore.
Making wood precious in Astana, Kazakhstan-As a participant in the Sheber Festival Astana (Kazakhstan 17-18 December 2016) and Artistic Jewellery Workshop, Martina Dempf gives us a rare glimpse of the creative life of Astana, Kazakhstan.
The road to Kilombu crosses many borders-“Strong eye contact and contemplative side glances take the viewer into the minds of my subjects, who often appear stoic and patient.” Welcome to Kilombu, an island nation where oppressed cultures, particularly from the tropics and global South, can build an independent nation. The Embassy of Kilombu has organised an exhibition in Bangkok at Atta Gallery of silver amulets, carved with Pa’som hieroglyphics promising spiritual power to the bearer. According to the embassy statement: It is widely thought that the intrigue surrounding the Azomanu, Earth god of the mysterious Kilombola, first inspired the trend for exotic Kilombu jewelry; particularly the amulets and Mbunzuvuko (sango Pa’som language, “evolution”, “enlightenment”) bracelets. In fact, the interest in Kilombu motifs wasn’t widespread until recently, […]
Unapologetic: A perspective on contemporary jewellery in Pakistan-Sahir Bashir heralds the remarkable rise of contemporary jewellery in Pakistan, featuring atavistic Zohra Rahman, charming Amber Sami and committed Aiza Mahmood. Bashir places this emergence in the broader perspective of a vibrant cultural scene.
Persian soirée – 20 November 2pm-Garland invites you to a special event for wrap up our Persian Prospect issue. Enjoy an afternoon of Iranian/Persian culture, including a first-hand encounter with Mehrnoosh Ganji's magical jewellery, reflections from writer Sanaz Fotouhi about the pomegranate, a "faal" ritual of Persian poetry, discussion about the impact of Iranian culture in Australia, forthcoming projects and afternoon treats from the Moroccan Deli-cacy.
Quarterly essay – A pomegranate’s secret: The jewels of Mehrnoosh Ganji-I had read about Mehrnoosh Ganji. She was a young talented young Iranian woman who had migrated to Australia in 2012 and had continued her passion of becoming a jewellery designer. I had seen her work in pictures, and was looking forward to seeing her and the pieces physically to try and understand more.
