The Box Project

Following my adventure in Blue, I was invited to participate in an exhibition called The Box Project curated by Jasmine Matus. A group of makers were each posted a box of diverse, random materials and asked to use them to make jewellery. You can read all about the project and the other wonderful makers at The Box Project blog.

Here is what was in my box:

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.... what to do?

I wasn't so sure about the ceramic bits and thought about crushing them with a hammer and then mixing the bits with epoxy to create elements for the work. Easier said than done when massively pregnant! So, I set them aside and thought about what to do with the rest. Firstly I gathered all the materials I had that were the same or close to the colour of what was left - greys and yellows. Then I set about playing! Here are some of my working models:

I thought about working with wood and making a series of brooches initially, but then thought about working with perspex - my favourite production work material. Perspex made its first foray into exhibition work with the Blue exhibition and I thought it might be good to push this along... 

I particularly enjoyed using the electrical cable, which I pulled the wire out of, and the 'o' rings which I eventually cut up. 

Here's the finished work:

connect, 2010, Electric Cable, Rubber 'O' Rings, Acrylic, Freshwater Pearls, Agate, Jade, Glass and Plastic Beads, Fine Silver

(You can't see it here, but the back of the neckpiece  also uses the electrical cable casing to go around the back of the neck.) 

Here is my artist statement:

A box of plugs, holes, cables, seals and connections. Yellows and greys.

Thoughts of things passing through; currents, energy. Things held in place; secure. 

The need to connect with these materials was exciting and challenging, what to make of them? There were limitations and little room for play and experimentation - what was in the box instantly took on a particular value… (I played with the materials anyway).

The final piece uses some of the 4 different materials contained within the box and responds to others by referring to their colour, function and form. Plugs, holes, cables, seals and connections.

Participating in The Box Project was a fantastic, if challenging experience. A huge thank you to Jasmine for inviting me to take part and for the amazing job she did curating this exhibition from the get go to the catalogue and end results on the gallery wall.

The Box Project was shown at gaffa gallery during October 2010 and this year it travels to Thinkspace at Masterworks in Auckland and The See Here in Wellington, New Zealand

Here's a picture of my work in the exhibition at gaffa: