At first glance, this exhibition can be summed up by one word: pink. But at closer inspection and exploration, a wonderful world of quirky design and elaborate craftsmanship await.
Beautiful neck pieces, brooches and earrings, all made from the same ball of pink thread and other found objects make up Melinda Young’s exhibition at Craft Victoria.
I found myself drawn to the fine textures and vibrant shapes all possessing a hidden meaning and thoughtful purpose. Items range from petite bird brooches to extravagant rope-like neckpieces, and even a cat’s whisker or two.
My favourite design was a brooch titled Dry, which consisted of the candy pink thread wrapped around a small pink plastic cactus. A cute presentation of something very simple. I felt as though Young had wrapped up the cactus shape so preciously as if protect it. And while it may be the nature lover in me playing tricks, it led me to believe this piece was about protecting the environment, much like a ‘Save the Planet’ or ‘No Oil’ badge.
Much of the work inspired a nautical feeling, and even more made me think of my Granny’s tassel-work gone techno-coloured. But what I found most intriguing was Young’s ability to produce such an abundance of high quality and extremely wearable jewellery, which possessed social commentary about women, hair removal and the outside versus the inside, and personal feelings from within the artist.
This is a rarely perfected mix of beauty and commentary stemming from something as elementary as a pink ball of thread.
- Review written by Emily Bentley-Singh.
2 comments:
where can I see more pictures!
Next week on 2nd of Feb we will be posting images of Lisa Walker's work and Jan 5th we will post images of Melinda Young's work. Thanks!
Post a Comment