Made / Worn

The themes and artworks in the exhibition are explored through four essays, 'A Well-Worn Country' by Kevin Murray, 'Material Investigations' by Penny Craswell, 'Constructing Identity' by Margaret Hancock Davis and 'Everything and Nothing: Jewellery Beyond Adornment' by Melinda Young.

In connection with the exhibition Made/Worn, ADC has developed an Education Kit and identified a reading list, plus links to galleries, retailers and other useful organisations related to contemporary jewellery in Sydney and around Australia.

"What I create and how I create it is most often a response to where I see myself within my community, how I feel my environment is contributing to my identity, what memories and cultural associations my materials hold and how the process of making contributes to the meaning of each piece."

"My practice is defined by research into personal, family and Australian collections with a particular focus on flora and botanical collections and as well the Australian landscape."

"The works that I create combine formed and found pieces.  The found objects I discover on field trips to regional locations in Western Australia are combined with silver, copper and enamel components in my studio. These pieces come together to provide a memento of my research."

"I am concerned with finding language that can describe both the object or the idea of the object, as well as the person who might wear the piece. How the piece is read when it is hanging in a gallery or when it is worn out in public, and by whom, is paramount to my practice. I am interested in how a work is read both on and off the body."

"All my adornments, whether it’s a river reed necklace or a breast plate or mourning cap adornments, tell very different stories about identity with south eastern Australian cultural practices."

"Nature, botanical specimens and memory influence my exhibition work. I use nature as a metaphor to investigate concepts of the fragility and transience of memory.  To me, flowers are a constant reminder that life is ephemeral, ever changing, momentary and precious."

"My practice incorporates the technique of metal collage and assemblage to make jewellery and small dioramas that question long-held ideas about Australia’s cultural identity."

"Through making jewellery, I apply spatial thinking to engage in contemporary discussions relating to the role of digital technologies in material culture, and the relationship between the maker and the machine."

"I define my practice by my approach to materials, my penchant for time-consuming and repetitive processes, my interest in detail, pattern, and qualities of light (like colour, shimmer and shine), my study of animals and my concern with connective mechanisms, movement and texture."

“What is the nature of our universe? Why is there something rather than nothing? What’s our human place in all this? These are some of the questions that form a backbone to my practice, and I explore such ideas through the materiality and conceptual framework of my artworks.”

"I was asked lots of questions about making shell necklaces and I kept going to talk to Mum about how she made them. This Tasmanian Aboriginal women’s cultural practice has a significance that has continued over many generations. It was really important for me to capture and be part of it. I am so lucky Mum and I made several necklaces. We held our first exhibition together in Queensland."

"The importance of my work is placed within human made debris as the discarded wearable heirlooms we pass on and leave behind us, in place of more traditional forms of jewellery. Diamonds are forever, so is anthropogenic debris which defines in our short existence the era and errors of the Anthropocene."

"My exhibition practice continues an ongoing enquiry into environmental fragility, impermanence, choice, social expectations and value. An emphasis on materials and exploration allows the physical act of making to partly drive the outcome."

"I tend to work with materials that are non-precious and widely available, often from the industrial realm (steel and concrete as examples to date). I’m attracted to the idea of democracy - availability and low cost of ‘common’ materials - in my making. Revealing the poetic qualities of materials most often interpreted as tough or coarse brings me endless pleasure."

"My practice is based on the methodology of preservation. I am heavily involved in this process of reflecting on the past and my identity. I use my practice as that vehicle for me to connect and learn more about my Torres Strait Island Heritage."

"I’m interested in unpacking our relationship(s) with plants within the contemporary context. My purview is to build knowledge and raise awareness about the natural world through investigating the myriad of themes the study of plants opens me up to."

"My practice is led by concept but grounded in materiality and processes. The materials that will make up the piece are carefully selected in line with the ideas behind the work and the appropriate skills to realise the piece are researched and exercised where needed to bring it into being."

"My practice explores a worn body. I am primarily motivated by expanding public perceptions and awareness of jewellery, examining the dialogue between body and object, capacity for transference of meaning and the potential for jewellery as a medium to reflect a changing social narrative."

"During 25 years of practice in the fields of contemporary jewellery, glass and design, I have developed a unique visual and material vocabulary through an innovative use of glass and metals, creating jewellery and objects that reference mechanical technology, industrial modernity and architecture."

"My practice is research based and focuses on the parallels between craft processes and science research methodologies. For many years now, I have had an avid interest in anatomy and have viewed the body as a rich and potent vehicle for the exploration of the personal and the political."

"My working methodology is based on exploring and translating the archetypal forms and motifs of jewellery, and of other types of objects that we attach a similar personal value to, through a range of diverse materials and processes."

"Fundamentally jewellery is a supplemental form requiring the body to support it in order to function. Can jewellery therefore function without the body? What happens when the body is absent, such as the case when on display in an exhibition? How does this impact on the sculptural ‘presence’ of the jewel? These are ongoing questions in my work."