Zoe Veness

Established

This series titled A landscape of our making, is a work Zoë Veness made while living in Hobart from 2016-2018. In two small brass containers like cupped hands holding something precious are pins shaped as rose petals that can be interpreted through a de-colonial perspective as a symbol of colonisation with rose gardens adorning many weatherboard and sandstone cottages in Hobart. However, through an Anthropocene lens, the pins also refer to Mount Wellington, with the textured metal surfaces a reminder of the sense of deep time experienced at the pinnacle when looking west over the summit’s dolerite terrain.

Zoë Veness is a contemporary jeweller and object-maker. Her work has been exhibited in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Singapore, London, Scotland, and Germany, and is held in public collections at the National Gallery of Australia and the Art Gallery of South Australia. She received an Australian Postgraduate Award for PhD research at UNSW Art & Design in Sydney in 2011 and Australia Council Visual Arts Grants in 2002, 2006 and 2017. Currently a lecturer at UNSW Art & Design, Zoë was previously Studio Coordinator of 3D Design at the School of Creative Arts and Media, UTAS in Hobart. 

Zoë Veness, A Landscape Of Our Making, 2017. Photo: Peter Whyte.