overview

conversations about jewellery in Aotearoa, NZ

issue #5 November 2011

Overview #5 November 2011

icebreaker
Sharon Fitness asks the universe to help her on a mission
2011: A Space Oddity1 : After getting a bit universal with my New Theory of Everything in Overview Four and pondering Caroline Billings observation pressure makes diamonds, I started recalling the many synchronicities I have noticed over the years between inter-galactic stellar happenings and making jewellery. Take centrifugal gravity for example. It is the same force that was used by Neanderthal hunters hurling rocks at animals with a sling, that supplied artificial gravity on 2001: a Space Odysseys2 ship Discovery One, that allows jewellers to produce rings and things with centrifugal casting machines. Is this a coincidence, or was the knowledge of making jewellery passed to us by ancient alien explorers? planet: I talk at length [abridged] to our very own super star Lisa Walker on receiving the greatest jeweller in the world award in the Netherlands. This is Ground Control to Major Tom, youve really made the grade. Raewyn (who was coincidentally born the year that Space Oddity was released) uses phenomenology to secure information relating to a sculpture show called Shed that is actually rumoured to be alien jewellery in disguise how much can an identifier change meaning? Now its time to leave the capsule if you dare. Kristin blasts off on a mission to discover if there is more to Planet Nelson than glass beads and beach hippy I think the jury is still out on that one - however she did find some rather interesting conceptual agents: And the stars look very different today. Stella Chrysostomou contemplates jewellery from her tin can at 41 28 South, 173 29 East; and Gavin Hitchins reports on the selfish pursuit of obscurity, fundamental geometry (apparently nothing to do with the illuminati) and some mysterious metal forms that look mighty like the piece of debris that Lieutenant Doolittle used to surf into the unstable planets atmosphere in my favourite movie Dark Star4.

Take your protein pills and put your helmet on. The JGGS Overview Five ventures deep into the outer orbits of the country and indeed the

1. David Bowie, 1969 a song alluding to the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey 2. Stanley Kubrick, 1968 3. John Carpenter, 1974 coincidentally a spoof of 2001: A Space Odyssey 1

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Helensville electorate (coincidentally a region in which he has never lived, so he has brain washed most inhabitants with gamma rays to think he is the nice boy next door) and report on their badge making workshop in Huapai and scrimshaw session in Helensville. The papers want to know whose shirts you wear. For some pure blasts from the past, we are very lucky to have been given some snapshots by Admiral Alan Preston that recorded the true history of Jewellery in Aotearoa New Zealand. Astronomical! Can you hear me Major Tom? Producing the last issue of Overview was quite an adventurous and challenging journey for the Jewellers Guild of Greater Sandringham. We sent out some fairly scary opinions hoping for an influx of controversy and backlash. The relative silence through the airwaves prompted us to wonder: Is there anybody out there? This question reminded me of the golden records that were sent on oneway journeys far into space on the Voyager spacecraft in 1977 (coincidentally the year that Kristin was born) to share cryptic codes, everyday images and sounds of the earth with potential alien civilisations that they might one day encounter. Here am I sitting in my tin can, far above the Moon. I first learnt about the golden records in maths class when the Voyager spacecraft would have been about 12 years away from earth

Check ignition and may gods love be with you. In the inner orbits, Libby Brickell explores make space and display space at the U of A @ MIT grad show (coincidentally a grad show that also contained television sets playing Also Spoke Zarathustra4 within earshot of Darshini Arunasalams installation adding galactical magic to the alien yet strangely familiar mechanical looking pieces atop her nine monolithic plinths; and a conspiracy theorist nutter who was overly concerned with hidden messages and coincidences planted everywhere by the illuminati (hence my current obsession with making every possible thing seem coincidental)). Commencing countdown, engines on. In the outer orbits, Debbie Adamson gets a sneaky peak into the Otago Polytechnic workshops as five graduates prepare their final submissions. And I think my spaceship knows which way to go. Overview Five Astronauts Matt, Renee, Ross, Kristin and Raewyn explore John Keys

4. Richard Strauss, 1896 theme music of the Ape sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey

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(coincidentally I was born the same year that Dark Star was made). Our teacher challenged us to interpret the codes engraved on the record. I remember being completely stumped, as were all of my classmates (I bet the illuminati had something to do with those codes). After a bit of translation and insight from Mr Rolfe, some bits of it started to make a sense, but I think we all came to the conclusion that aliens would probably miss the point and use their golden record as a pretty decoration on their Christmas tree. Your circuits dead, theres something wrong. I was astounded to discover a few months ago while watching one of the many interesting space documentaries on channel 77 (coincidentally John Key and the National Government are closing down TVNZ7 next year), that Voyager 1 is incredibly still transmitting data back to earth 34 years later from the very outer reaches of our solar system. And I am floating in a most peculiar way. Anyway, I digress. We have come to a consensus that we must write our own contemporary jewellery history, starting now as we see it and Overview is the Voyager to take us there. You are welcome to guide the ship occasionally, or just come along for the ride. Let there be light5 Preferably more green and red lights than blue acting lights.

P.S. Planet Earth is blue and there is nothing I can do. For a little light stargazing and universal appreciation, I highly recommend these two space flicks: http://vimeo.com/32001208 and http://www.powersof10.com/film

- Sharon Fitness

* In case you hadnt picked up on the subliminal messages in this text, certain lyrics have been pilfered from Space Oddity, (David Bowie, 1968), thanks lyricfreak.com

5. what Bomb #20 said in Dark Star before it exploded and coincidentally also allegedly spoken by someone in the Book of Genesis (according to the illuminati) 3

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dialogue
Kristin DAgostino talks to Stella Chrysostomou about jewellery and life as they know it in Nelson

KD: Nelson, Nelson, Nelson please state your coordinates.... SC: My shed in the garden sits at 41 28 South, 173 29 East, and here is where jewellery making happens when rats are not running amuck and weeds arent growing through the walls! A big incentive for spending more time in the shed is keeping the rats away it works the more Im there the less often they visit. Ive been living in Nelson for 12 years now and have a busy life with my job at the local independent booksellers, two children and luckily for me, a very supportive partner which means I get plenty of encouragement and support to get out to the shed. The Nelson jewellery community is broad in its character. From conceptual players, like myself, to high-end producers like the Jens Hansen workshop and through to individual jewellers who are attempting to make a living from their craft. While there are some opportunities to exhibit (especially recently with a couple of new design galleries (Palmer Design an architect office and gallery space- and Cubicle design store)) most makers are concentrating on production and sales, either via websites, the famous local market, or in retail outlets locally and nationally. There arent too many

exhibition-only types and I feel that Nelson is a bit tame. In 2009 in response to what I saw as the lack of opportunities to be a bit more daring, I started CJP (Community Jewellery Projects) with a one night only event called Skate (which involved jewellery, music boxes and yes, skating!). Over a period of 18 months I coordinated 3 CJPs. Interestingly enough, while there was some interest from the jewellery community, the projects piqued the interest of other visual artists (particularly those working across media) with ideas-based practice. Ive handed over the CJP concept to others in the jewellery community to co-ordinate the next few, as I always felt it should be driven from the jewellery community as a whole rather than an individual. (That doesnt mean I dont have some ideas for future CJPs!) KD: I heard you had an opportunity to see the Shed exhibition. The Nelson Sculpture Trust website describes the show as Conversing with both jewellery and sculptural concerns these artists address issues of scale and its relationship to the particular narrative they have developed around ideas of material and scale. Can you tell us your impressions? SC: The Shed exhibition was good. I loved the setting in an industrial building on the wharf at Port Nelson. (I am sure we all often miss opportunities to use vacant spaces. Like those

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kiosks in malls that are often empty half the year.) The work on the whole was interesting. I loved that light bulb both beautiful and technically amazing. It was nice to see Warwick Freemans tools very clever and they keep resonating well after the show. And I was especially pleased to see Andrea Dalys boulders strong interesting jewellery the relationship with the body is so tactile and it reminds us as jewellers that the body is always a consideration. Funnily enough I mentioned to the woman who organised the exhibition for The Nelson Sculpture Trust, that I liked the jewellery show and was told in no uncertain terms it was sculpture. In some ways they were, but the artists were predominately jewellers and they had, I think, a jewellers sensibility. I guess the show raises some interesting questions about the line between sculpture and jewellery. The exhibition statement tends to focus on the difference as scale. While this is an easy conclusion to draw, I dont think that it is always accurate or relevant. Getting back to my point about Andreas boulders the body, jewellery is never complete without the body, whether the body is inferred by the nature of the object (as in Warwicks tools, which are made by hand for the hand) or a direct relationship in the wearing of it. KD: Congratulations on your recent CNZ grant, can you tell us a little bit about your project? SC:Thanks, its always a boost to receive funding, both financially and emotionally. The funding is to develop a project called Bliss to a large solo show. Last year I made, what I see as a leap in my practice, and developed a series called I

Cant Hear You for The Compendium Show at Fingers.(some of you may have seen it). This series consisted of 8 earpieces. (The back of the ear is an over-looked and under-utilised bodily site for jewellery.) The earpieces were a parody of a functional, actual hearing aid. They looked as if they functioned (they even had movable parts) but they were in fact non-functional and purely decorative. The I Cant Hear You series investigated how communication can be inhibited by physical or psychological factors, but because the aids were non-functional they stressed the latter, and suggested that engaged communication is impeded by unwillingness to hear or listen. This was the first step in the development of Bliss. Earlier this year I decided that I wanted to continue on this path of enquiry; my intention being to make work that was political without being a clich. I produced Bliss in its first phase for The See Here space in Wellington. Bliss is a study of apathy and general ignorance. I have taken the maxim See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil as a starting point to explore our societys unwillingness to engage with the political environment. (It is easier to ignore, deny and forget, rather than risk personal harm or hardship. Our internal worlds, our personal relationships and identities are also shaped by avoidance and comfort.) The show will consist of several series of jewellery objects. So Bliss is growing (lots of work to do!) into a full-scale solo show and late next year, all going well you will get a chance to see this exhibition at a gallery near you!

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KD: What are some of the rewards and challenges you have faced as a maker committed to developing conceptual work? SC: Saying something in a traditionally decorative craft isnt easy. In fact, saying something original or with a fresh voice is a challenge that artists that wish to speak with their work struggle with. Work is abandoned when it fails to achieve much more than a hollow ring. Nevertheless, I enjoy the challenge of taking an idea and developing a physical object that can speak in a different way from written language. While I work predominately in sterling silver, and am fairly traditional method-wise I try to stretch what is perceived to be jewellery, and to use the constraints of this genre as a tool to discuss ideas that matter. Not only am I interested in the jewellery as individual pieces or sets, I also find developing the space that the works sits in rewarding; the installation is part of the the experience and a tool with which to create levels of understanding and to reinforce the ideas of the jewellery. In my work I attempt to give the viewer several paths or assess points (e.g.: humour) to the work, so that the audience can come to it from their own perspective or experience. This can be difficult and sometimes you find that the meaning of the work has been misunderstood, or lost. On the other hand I dont want the meaning to be so obvious its 2-dimensional, so some elements of misunderstanding can be surprisingly revealing.

not be easily wearable, is not pretty and doesnt make an income. But I think that the main challenge is getting your work to an audience. Conceptual jewellery is not seen as fitting with the art gallery nor the dealer gallery, (unless youre collectible and saleable). While I have had the privilege of support from some public galleries and exhibition spaces, it is still difficult to get art galleries to consider jewellery as a serious artform. And it seems increasingly difficult to get shows into these galleries as budgets are constrained, show turn-over has been reduced (less exhibitions), there is stiff competition to get people through the doors and with society in a somewhat conservative phase audiences are demanding more accessible art. While the rejection letters are momentarily defeating, all it really means is that you have to be more inventive. (I think a great example of that is The See Here space in Wellington).

I think that many people, jewellers included, question the point of making jewellery that may - Kristin DAgostino and Stella Chrysostomou

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dialogue
From the coordinates of the shed in Stella Chrysostomou garden, to the waters edge, Raewyn Walsh seeks out new jewellery forms at SHED, the exhibition.
Togs, togs, togs, undies so the ad for ice cream goes in a bid to simplify summer and determine how far away from the beach can you be before togs become undies. Context is everything and the tip top ad claims that you must be in sight of the water for togs to be togs: and not underwear. Here at Guild headquarters we wondered if there might have been similar concerns at the SHED exhibition that was held in Nelson in October. How far from the body could a work be before it left the realms of jewellery and became sculpture, we asked, and how might the conditions of contemporary jewellery and sculpture overlap. If at all. SHED was hosted by the Nelson Sculpture Trust and was housed in a shed at Port Nelson in full view of the water. Rebecca Hamid from the Sculpture Trust stated that Seven of New Zealands most celebrated jewellers are combining in an exhibition which will challenge the conventional boundaries of artistic disciplines. Shed brings together artists who challenge the dimensions between jewellery and sculpture and in doing so have achieved recognition on national and international stages. Warwick Freeman, Ani ONeil, Niki Hastings McFall, Areta Wilkinson, Joe Sheehan, Jason Hall, and Andrea Daly will exhibit both jewellery and sculptural pieces. All have work in public collections and it will be the first time that Freeman, who is credited with helping revolutionise contemporary New Zealand jewellery, will exhibit in both art forms. the distinctions drawn between jewellery as craft, and sculpture as fine art are artificial. such distinctions are arbitrary and often say more about hierarchies and values than matters of substance or content in the artists practice. The aesthetic, making, scale and materials are these artists primary concerns. They have moved between the dimensions of jewellery and sculpture, employing a conceptual rigour to their practice.

There were no JGGS representatives in Nelson at the time of the exhibition and we can only go by the photographs supplied by some of the participants to see how this played out. That and the collective manifesto which offers up its own existential take on the jewellery/sculpture stand off. Real or percieved.

and that Joe Sheehan

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SHED manifesto There is no scale. The objects in the shed are closer than they appear. There is no material. The objects in the shed are made from matter, of one kind or another. There is no process. The object in the shed have been transformed, some more than others. There is no function. The objects in the shed can be used in different ways. There is no value. The object in the shed are luxury items. There is no meaning. The objects in the shed tell you something or they dont.

Niki Hasting-McFall

Ani ONeill

Warwick Freeman

Andrea Daly

Areta Wilkinson

Jason Hall

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monologue
Kristin DAgostino looks for the whereabouts of Gavin Hitchins and finds him still taking time to make great work
Dear Overview, I have nothing to say! Oh! Dear! I have been re-discovered. I was happily sinking into a state of self-imposed obscurity and enjoying many of the benefits of that state when your gracious invitation to contribute a word or two assailed me. As a consequence of that selfish pursuit of personal obscurity, I have become somewhat ignorant of the make-up of Aucklands designer jewellers and therefore Whos who. I think the closest I have been to any of you is meeting up with Warwicks dad at the phlebotomists the other day (us old bleeders tend to come together at certain times of life!). Anyway, I am evidently not up with the play when it comes to contemporary jewellery developments. Shame! Shame! I hear you cry. But wait this may be an interesting position for me to take because it throws up a question or two about ones personal working rationale. What is wrong with anonymity (obscurity)? The notion of the unknown craftsman has been well aired in the western world but also in the east, witness Soetsu Yanagis book The Unknown Craftsman which may be seen as an important statement in this regard (but who of us has actually read it?). I dont know how to answer that question or whether it is properly constructed and can yield useful information, but I remain intrigued by the notion and its potential or lack thereof. It is interesting to note that there is an exhibition currently showing at the British Museum by Grayson Perry and his God, Alan Measles, which presents this issue in a very graphic way, the title is the Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman and in it Grayson Perry has arranged old artefacts from the Museums collection in juxtaposition with his modern works. At one point he observes that :- just up the road in Regents Park is a tent filled with stuff whose significance and value is often only down to the identity of the maker. (britishmuseum.org). I seem to be rambling a bit here so lets put a stop to that and have a couple of pictures (after all we work in the realm of the visual.) So, what are these? (fig 1. and fig 2.)Well, they are actually two brooches from a longer series that people can wear (heresy?). They were apparently made by this anonymous craftsperson and I understand that the material used is silver. He is opposed to the use of gold on account of the dreadful devastation which accompanies its extraction from our earths substance, but is painfully aware that the same considerations apply to silver, yet is well and truly seduced by its working qualities (he is also opposed to the wearing of hair shirts).
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fig 1 It would appear that this person had the idea that time could be imagined as a natural arc and that the events which may have occurred within that particular arc are represented by a kind of architectural grid which employs the fundamental pattern :- vertical, horizontal and diagonal. This graphic structure was also used by Janet Frame (Living in the Maniototo?) and she ascribed certain qualities to the sides of the triangles which in turn expands the knowledge potential contained therein. It has also been suggested that this person may have witnessed some examples of early landgrabbing surveying techniques (see Boundary Markers by Dr. Giselle Byrnes, Professor of History at Waikato University). One of these techniques was known as triangulation. Once again a geometrical grid appeared, the application of which seemed to imply ownership. Why

fig 2 these things should be recorded in the form of brooches is, I think, difficult to comprehend. Finally, whatever the sources and inspiration underlying these pieces, it is clear that at a fundamental level they are a simple exploration of geometrical possibilities which uses a fixed grid device within which diagonal variations may occur. It should be noted that the intervals within the grid do not follow the imperatives of the Fibonacci series or, indeed, any other formal proportional system, but is an entirely intuitive series. Perhaps that is all we really need to know about them!

- Gavin Hitchings

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report from the field

Karen Michaud moves to the south and tells us about the view from her bench of the jewellery-scape in the Nelson area.
Hi Everyone, So three months ago I moved down to the wonderful Tasman district and now live in Motueka. I have my jewellery bench set up in the garage and thank god its starting to warm up, has been a bit slow out there. I picked up part time work at the Suter Art Gallery in Nelson, is a quaint little gallery but does it have a lot of regulars and it does help that theres a cafe. Despite the fact that its small it has very good shows and very loyal patrons. Following are just a few photos of Nelsons Suter Art Gallery (where I work part time) and Jewellery Galleries. There is a little bit of history to start out with, everything kind of revolves around the Suter Gallery in some way so heres a little glimpse. ( Well thats what the regulars think :} ) The Bishop Suter Art Gallery is one of the oldest galleries in NZ, opening its doors in 1899 in memory of the second Bishop of Nelson Andrew Burn Bishop. It has quite an extensive permanent collection which has a revolving show space. Monthly contemporary shows. and lots of older regulars, who dont hesitate to introduce themselves and have chats (long ones). Go to www.thesuter.org.nz to find out more. www.jewelbeetle.co.nz There are also galleries that are dedicated to jewellery. Jewel Beetle is owned and run by Alison Judge and Yvon Smits. Both worked in Europe and the UK and have been classically trained. The gallery is right in the middle of town on Trafalgar St.

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Lustre gallery is owned by Peter Elsbury, he shares his work space and gallery with other local artists. There is a group show every year called Klustre which will be shown in the gallery from 12 December to 13 January. And I am proud to say I will be participating.

www.elsbury.net Jens Hansen was established in 1968 and has been the name in jewellery making and design ever since. If you didnt already know they made THE ONE RING for The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. www.jenshansen.com

- Karen Michaud

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reflection
Ross Malcolm and Renee Bevan, and Raewyn Walsh and Kristin DAgostino share their experience of a programme of workshops initiated by Matt Blomeley for the Auckland Council.
From Bauhaus to Your House was a programme of four free one-day contemporary art and contemporary craft workshops devised and supported by Auckland Councils Arts and Culture North and Housing for the Older departments in October 2011. The four workshops (exclusively for older and retired people) were delivered at four north Auckland community arts facilities in Northcote, Helensville, Kumeu and Mairangi Bay by Regan Gentry, Kristin DAgostino and Raewyn Walsh, Renee Bevan and Ross Malcolm, and Niki Hastings-McFall. The programme was devised as a celebration of International Day of the Older Person, which occurs on the 1st of October every year. Attendees at each workshop started the day by learning about their artist-teachers making practice via a slideshow talk. Participants were then launched into a guided making session, sharing experiences and creating a small artwork that was closely related in material and/or concept to a signature work by the artist-teacher. All materials were supplied. The workshops were a fantastic trans-generational opportunity for older and retired people across north Auckland to learn from established professional artists in an age-friendly environment. One of the highlights of the programme was an impromptu presentation by Alan Preston at The Arts Centre Helensville, regarding the history of contemporary jewellery in New Zealand. The feedback from participants to the workshops, some of which follows, made it clear that each day was an absolute winner. As innumerable community art centres have known for a long time, contemporary artists have a lot of valuable understandings to share with the public. Really enjoyed the slideshow and background and the works. Lots of help available and it was a very enjoyable day with an expert artist. Everything was great. Excellent resource materials. All credit to the thoughtfulness and initiative of those who organize such things. Excellent tutors. What a great opportunity to learn something different and meet some lovely people. Excellent achievable projects. This gives us all a more positive feeling about the future and aging more pleasurable. A stimulating presentation and one that could possibly change my mindset in how I do my art. Thanks very much. Excellent presentation.

- Matt Blomeley

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reflection
Ross Malcolm reflects on memory, time, and social relations at the Kumeu workshop. Photographs by Renee Bevan.
The overall task we set for the Kumeu workshop was for the group to think about memory and to use magazines and other 2-dimensional materials to collage ideas that could then be made into badges or laminated for the construction of brooches. We began by showing a powerpoint of each of our work and then went on to show works by other artists who use the idea of memory in various ways. This was followed with a quick cuppa & yummy cakes. The badge making exercise was a breeze, with each participant finishing with 2 or 3 pieces that expressed something of their thought process. laminated imagery and threading these components in an abstract fashion onto nylon filament which was attached to preconstructed brooch backs. Although time was becoming limited by this stage, everyone managed to compose a brooch and learned the rudiments of this type of construction.

During the making process there was a lovely social vibe happening, with lots of friendly chatter and creative energy. The finished outcomes were diverse; from something for a grand daughter that was into dancing, to national geographic imagery of their homeland transformed to be wearable by two delightful Russian women. The day closed with a brief show and tell, followed by unanimous positive feedback about the Bauhaus to our house inititive. All up, we had a speeding day that was action packed and lots of fun. So, A big Cheer! to all involved and to Matt and the council for the opportunity to be part of this initiative. The second task was to construct a more dimensional brooch by piercing cut out - Ross Malcolm
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reflection
Raewyn Walsh also reflects on shared experience at the Helensville workshop. Photographs by Kristin DAgostino.
When Matt Blomeley asked Kristin and I to lead a workshop for International Old Peoples Day, we found it difficult to refuse. With Kristins focus on social practice and my interest in resurrecting old craft techniques we saw this as a great opportunity to combine and collaborate outside of the gallery context. The mission statement of the Jewellers Guild of Greater Sandringham is to take contemporary jewellery to the community and so it was with this in mind that we trucked ourselves and our tools to the Helensville Arts Centre for a day of scrimshaw and sea shanties.

The results, like the attendees, were varied but the outcome was more than Kristin and I expected. We had spent the day chatting about making, jewellery, and life in a relaxed and convivial environment. And when we left, we realized we had gained more than we had given.

We were thrilled to be joined by Alan Preston who presented a Concise History of Contemporary Jewellery in Aotearoa to the workshop particpants before we set about scratching our world into a brooch with a small scribe and a sharpie. One particpant was a retired sailor who gently scribed an anchor onto his brooch that echoed the bluebird tattoos on each of his hands.

- Raewyn Walsh
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interview
Sharon chats to Lisa Walker about her recent Netherland adventures to claim the Franoise van den Bosch prize and set up her show at the Cobra Museum.
S: Tell me what it feels like to be recognised for such a prestigious award. L: Oh well! Ive actually had a couple of years to live with it now it just blew my brain really. Absolutely out of the blue, very unexpected.

S: And now that you are at the top of your game, who are your super heroes or people that you aspire to be like? L: Oh well my biggest ever hero is still very much Bernhard Schobinger. In fact I stayed with Liesbeth den Besten when I was in Amsterdam and she had just found his very first catalogue and there was a lot of hand done, hand colouring in it and hed only made a hundred copies. It was just an amazingly beautiful publication and his work was just so special. How he puts things together and what he puts together and this was what mid 80s or even earlier and it totally holds its own 30 years later. So hed be my all time favourite and he won it too, in the 90s I think [1998].

S: The awards ceremony was probably the most important jewellery event for you to attend ever; whose necklace were you wearing at the prize giving? L: Aha, did you notice? Ha ha, Paul Derrez gave me a piece for my birthday. Its a little silver egg, its repousse, and I thought it went really well with that dress.

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S: And what was the other thing that you were given? L: Ah, that was by a student from the Gerrit Reitveld [Boris de Beijer]. I know last time Ted Noten got a piece as well from a student. Its like the trophy, so hes engraved on the back; Franoise van den Bosch, Lisa Walker etc, and that seems to be a relatively new tradition where a student makes a trophy. S: Thats pretty cool for them. L: It is, its fantastic, yeah absolutely. Its a nice piece too. Ive hung it on the wall of my lounge. S: Yeah, when the Jewellers Guild of Greater Sandringham were looking at the AJF photos on Facebook we all said Oooh, shes wearing something! What is it? because you hardly ever wear jewellery. L: ** I had to think of you because I got told off by Olga who is from Gallery Biro and Paul Derrez for not wearing very much. I said oh well, the younger generation and I told them about you, and Sharon actually something did happen recently at Te Papa. Someone asked me why dont you wear? you know, where is your piece of jewellery and I said oh well Im a maker not really a wearer and I sort of thought to myself well thats okay, I can justify that, but then the curator yelled out Im not a wearer either! and I thought oh my god, no, we dont want this, we dont want everyone being so proud because they are not wearers. We actually want the opposite you know, so yeah, I have to rethink all these things. S: Yeah, represent! L: Yeah no, its all true, its absolutely true. I still find it bloody hard though

S: So do you think that when you do wear, you wear more conservative things or something? Or have you not bothered to think about it. L: No I dont even do that ** Yeah, but interesting, I knew that egg would be all right. You could almost call that conservative in a way, though its not really, its just a nice piece. S: And I noticed some stripey things attached to the laptop and the microphone at the awards. Were you Subliminally Infiltrating or was that part of the Chicks on Speed performance? L: ** They were a part of the pieces I gave Chicks on Speed. I gave Anat [ben David] the huge big stripey one - it was almost like a piece of clothing - and then they were earrings. So she didnt wear the earrings because she had an infected ear or something. Yeah, but she did hang them there **

image: Lisa Walker S: Who were the people you were most excited to see at the opening? L: Ah, oh I think as far as new people I hadnt met before I met Franoise van den Boschs sister and she was probably about 80 I think. Very polite and ladylike, you know, of that generation... aristocracy. Franoise van den Bosch was sort of the black sheep of the family

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and it was actually after her death when people started making such a fuss of her and wanting to celebrate her work in some way that the family started to come round and realise they had a bit of a gem there. But apart from that she had quite a tough time in the family. Ah, and Ted Notens always memorable, cause he always just takes the piss all the time. Oh and he gave me a birthday present as well, a little ring made by this 3d printing technique it was a little yellow banana...Oh and the New Zealand ambassador came too.

S: I noticed a sheep on one of the plinths and I havent seen you do sheep for a while. L: Yeah lots of people called it a cow, I couldnt believe it!

S: Did he know anything about contemporary jewellery? L: No, but I bet he does now though! ** It was nice hearing kiwi voices there. His wife was really cool actually. She buys a lot of jewellery. She knows Fingers and things.

image: Lisa Walker S: What? Dont they know what cows look like? Is that a new sheep or is it a sheep making a comeback. L: No its very old, actually one of the first pieces where I actually used proper make-up on it the white was sort of a childs make up... yeah its very old that piece, from 97ish. And of course its the tiniest piece on the tallest plinth.

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S: Your installation looked pretty fantastic with all those stripes what was your favourite bit? Was there one piece that worked really well? L: Oh there was a few The blue hand and the painted image on paper necklace on brown and green for example.

which is quite a lot but I think with those stripes you can really have fun with difference between pieces. You know, just cause its small you dont have to shove them all together. S: We quite liked how you had a few brooches in a row in a smiley face. L: Yeah that was important that little curve of brooches. Because it quickly looked static somehow, and it was very important to have the odd little spot like that curve to make the whole thing work together and keep it interesting really.

image: Lisa Walker image: Lisa Walker There was a few that I thought wow, that works so well, really, and thats something that you cant plan. I planned all the colours from here, but as far as putting the pieces up, there was no way you can plan it until you do it. And that was great fun, very intense doing all that finding what works and what doesnt. Theres not actually that many pieces in the show either for such a huge space. Id say 53 or something S: Yeah... and all those plinths. L: Yeah that was good actually once the wall was up I thought wow we dont really need the plinths in a way but the plinths always work really well. Always. Its so great having different sizes of surface to put a piece on, and then making a little island like that its just a guaranteed successful thing really and I think the wall and the island of plinths and then the wall of photographs theres those 3 elements that worked really well.

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image: Lisa Walker S: It looked like a really nice gallery space. L: Yeah the Cobra Museum is interesting, and the Cobra Movement. I hadnt heard about that before. They a were a mid 20th century collection of artists from Belguim, The Netherlands and Denmark, and the reason why they took my show is that they thought I fitted into this movement. I felt a bit ignorant rocking up not knowing much about it but Id never heard of it.. S: Its pretty cool that they think you are cool enough to be in their movement. L: Isnt it! Woah I agree ** S: Youre in the cool club now. [a little bit later] S: So, did you enter into Schmuck or are you too famous for that now? L: Oh look I didnt even remember it, cause that was when all the action was happening. Too famous. Ha! No well I havent won the Herbert Hofmann prize yet, Id still like to put that on my CV, yeah so Ill keep entering until I get that

image: Lisa Walker

- Sharon Fitness and Lisa Walker

Note: we chatted on Skype for nearly an hour about a whole bunch of things, so this conversation has been severely edited in places so as not to take over the whole issue of Overview 5. Also, rather than use the appalling LOL abbreviation for laughing out loud, you will see two stars. Big thanks to Lisa Walker and Kerianne Quick of Art Jewelry Forum for permitting us to use these pictures. Please do not reproduce them without permission.

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review
Libby Brickell heads to MSVA for Thee Open Day and is inspired by what she finds there.

To Make and to Display The workshop is where learning, creativity, making, failing, conceptualising and critiquing take place. The gallery/ display cabinet is where selected works make a public appearance. Thee Open Day at Manukau School of Visual Arts is the interface between what is crafted in private and shown in public. It is a chance for the public to get a peek at the inner workings of the workshop and to see painting, photography, moving images, installation, objects and jewellery on display. Russel Goodman, a 2011 graduate of MSVAs Bachelor of Visual Arts program, displays wooden nails in varying stages of completion. In the next cabinet, lie a wooden hammer head, wooden chisels without handles and wooden saw blades. His work bears the mark of a maker; one who cannot keep his hands from turning raw materials into thoughtful objects. These wooden tools aptly portray the overlap between the workshop and the gallery, between making and displaying, between years of study and the exhibition at the end of it all. MSVA puts equal emphasis on both practices: to make and to display; equipping their students with tools necessary to survive as a practitioner once they graduate.

Graduating jeweller, Sinead Jury, uses the large glass windows of the jewellery studio as her display cabinet. She lines these with candy coloured shelves and a treasure trove of jewellery objects made with plastics, thread, glitter, crystals, beads and other items a magpie would hoard. Looking past these possible brooches into the workshop, you can see the very place where they were made.

Sinead Jury You can see rows and rows of jewellers benches, all with the signifying semi-circular cut out and leather bag for catching metal scraps. There are lamps and swivel chairs and soldering torches across the side of the room. There is a patination room, a casting room and an enameling room. The workshop is a feast of tools. This is where the graduates have spent the last four years, developing a body of work that culminates in the objects chosen for display at Thee Open Day.

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Up a flight of stairs, the black powder-coated jewellery of Darshini Arunasalam, is displayed on white plinths. The room is open, sunlit and sparse. Her works bore holes into this white room. They are architectural and specific. The black metal objects harbor holes and spaces which invite the human form; perhaps a shoulder, or a finger.

This room is used throughout the year as a space of learning and cultivating craft. Most days it contains students and lecturers but over the few days of the graduates exhibition, jewellery adorns the room like physical tokens of what has been learned within these walls. I was lucky enough to have senior jewellery lecturer, Mary Curtis show me around the MSVA building. It is her privilege, to simultaneously announce and farewell the two students she has taught for four years. She gets to watch a student become a graduate; reaching the point where everything that has been examined and cultivated within these walls, is ready to make a public appearance. The rest of us get to enjoy jewellery that is challenging and new, every year, as more students graduate from MIT, Unitec and Hungry Creek, in Auckland.

- Libby Brickell Darshini Arunasalam

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postcards from the edge

Debbie Adamson sends news from Dunedin and anticpates the Otago Polytechnic graduate exhibition. Wish we were there.

On the Tables Down South As a past graduate from the Otago Polytechnic myself, its fair to say that I have soft spot for the place. So, it is with eager anticipation that I await Site, the annual showcase of School of Art graduates. Every year the walls, floors, nooks and crannies of the department buildings are transformed into a curious exhibition, of works and installations, as the seniors via for the perfect place to display their latest work. This year the show opens November 19, narrowly missing the deadline for this publication. But as the deadline looms, I decided to infiltrate the senior Jewellery department and try to catch a glimpse of their final projects in the days before setup. The first thing I notice is how remarkably calm it all seems. Given that assessment is a mere 5 days away, I was expecting anxiousness all round, but this bunch seem pretty on to it. There are telltale signs - bundles of paper, materials lying where they last had a use, tins of half eaten sweets, and desks with no surface area to be seen - but overall there is a sense ease and togetherness that Im rather envious of. This year there are five seniors participating in Site Clair McSweeny, Bianca Burgess-Heald, Lucy Noone, Jessica Kitto and Krystle Staiger.

All are working with different materials, but what seems common is the importance of dialogue suggested within their works. Clair has made brooches out of branches. They slowly break away from a cast silver stem to expose 18 carrot gold points. Embarking on a journey of wearability, these pieces are imbued with a sense of nostalgia and story telling. As the brooch deteriates from the wearers daily activity, we are reminded of the fragility of nature and the impact we can have on it. By choosing to wear one, we enable its destruction. The stumped remains, delicately cast in silver, poigently hold the memories of what once was.

Clair McSweeny Amidst the piles of apparently abandoned objects and things are Krystles series of pendants, rings and brooches. Recycling and the environment more directly addresses in

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these works through her reconstition of throwaway materials. into objects of desire. Arguing for sustainability in an increasingly over consumed world, these beguiling objects of desire become vehicles enabling discussion. Her series of brooches, using reclaimed metal and fabric, are emblazoned with sawn out illustrations of modern consumer goods. Through this iconicization (into adornment), one is left questioning the value these things in our everyday lives. [cushions of consumerism again needs more work]

jewellery to invite the bumble bee into personal space. Im left considering whether I even have the nous to try one on (and am still undecided). In this way they become symbolic of the boundaries of wearability, a decision that is left up to the individual.

Bianca Burgess-Heald Scattered around Lucys desk are a series of small bottle pendants. Inside are small paper houses, constructed from the pages of an Edmund Cookbook and embedded into toffee. This body of work has layers of meaning, but centres around the female gendered role in the domestic household. Inherent power structures are navigated through symbolic and nostalgic use of materials, inviting the wearer to consider the associated values. I find myself trying to decifer the text for clues, and realise that each bottle contains a kind of diarama of accidental

Krystal Staiger In Biancas work, the use of silver and natural materials is used to question the politics of wearing in a more confronting way. Bumblebees are set into links to form a series of chokers. The very act of wearing becomes ambivalent. While the fragility of these skeletal insects cannot be denied, the sense of fear and power they hold remains. She uses the conventions of

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poetry and as well as an alluring sweet smell. The combination still intrigues me, and leaves the work invitingly open and questioning.

Jessica Kito Everything said and done, now is the time for these works to move from the studio to the exhibition space. I caught a glimpse of where its all heading, but I can only speculate on how it will come together. This last week is where all the hours really count. I, for one, am on the edge of my seat. Ive had a taste - now Im looking forward to the full serving.

Lucy Noone Jessica has literally inscribed meaning onto the surface of her rings. Titled It could have been beautiful, her series of plain silver bands each feature a fragment of text, something intimate or a saying used when trying to end a relationship, stamped on the inside. Through this growing mind map (of silver rings), she is poetically exploring the poltics of relationships, and the materiality of jewellery in relation to the body. Some are left blank, waiting for the viewer or wearer to contribute a phrase. I think of my own experience and feel an unfamiliar closeness to the words of strangers. The simplicity speaks volumes.

- Debbie Adamson

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We listen out to the voices from the past and see what was going on in the jewellery in the 1970s and 1980s

soundbite

Fingers at Lapis Lazuli,1975

guess who

from private archive

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announcement
JEMposium: Jewellery or What 4-day international jewellery symposium: 10 13 Feb 2012

Contemporary jewellery in New Zealand has a history of hosting significant international experts to run workshops and give presentations at conferences. Such occasions generate a ripple of inspiration that enriches the local jewellery audience and stimulates makers and their practice. JEMposium (Wellington, 10 13 February 2012) builds on this tradition. The calibre of artists and experts participating in this event make it t as the most far-reaching and inspirational yet. The symposium is a unique opportunity for international authorities on jewellery and design to become acquainted with New Zealand practices, and for local practitioners and arts enthusiasts to gain insights into global trends and movements. The combination of a unique format of presentations with the exciting symposium topics (Ideas into Material, Materials into Ideas and Distribution) will make this a sensational event: http://www.jemposium.co.nz/

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small talk
Jewellery exhibitions, events, and workshops

Auckland Fingers Gallery February 7th - March 4th group show Jewelism (concurrent to JEMposium) Masterworks Gallery December 1st - 18th Handshake Group Show www.handshake.wordpress.com Unitec Graduate Show 2011 Opening 1st December 5.30pm

Auckland Objectspace November 4th - 23rd Karl Fritsch, Rings Without Ends February 8th - March 10th 2012 Manon van Kouswijk & Fabrizio Trident (concurrent to JEMposium) Talente One Year On Wallace Arts Trust February 1st - April 1st 2012 Retrospect curated by Jo Mears (concurrent to JEMposium) Wellington Pataka Gallery December 2 Whitireia 25th anniversary/Grad show February - March 2012 Mary Curtis Metadecorative (concurrent to JEMposium) Toi Poneke February - March 2012 Handshake Group Show www.handshake.wordpress.com (concurrent to JEMposium)

Christchurch The National We have recently set up in a new location at NG, 212 Madras St, Christchurch To stay in touch, keep visiting the blog and website, and join us on Facebook. www.thenationalnz.blogspot.com November 25 - December 25 Karl Fritsch Karli Karli, new rings

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aside
Congratulations go to Lynsay Raine and Suni Gibson who have been selected to show at Talente 2012 in Munich, Germany
Lynsay Raine, brutal beauty

Congratulations also go to Jacqui Chan and Octavia Cook who have been selected to show at Schmuck 2012 in Munich, Germany
Jacqui Chan

Overview is thrilled to announce that three jewellers made a clean sweep of the 2011 Objective awards. Raewyn Walsh won the grand prize, with Flora Sekanova and Jasmine Watson winning second and third place respectively. Objective Exhibition at Mangere Arts Centre until 2 December
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This is the last issue of Overview for 2011. Next issue in March 2012 will review and reflect on JEMposium. all submissions welcome! Until then, we hope your summer is filled with beaches, picnics, and contemporary jewellery. love Sharon, Kristin, and Raewyn

Want the next issue? to go on the mailing list please email sandringhamjewellersguild@gmail.com Want to contribute? send comments and articles by March 2, 2012 to sandringhamjewellersguild@ gmail.com Want to join the Jewellers Guild of Greater Sandringham facebook group? https://www.facebook.com/groups/167264333370619/

happily brought to you by The Jewellers Guild of Greater Sandringham ISSN 2230-5416
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