Tuesday 12 August 2008

The Passenger



Created by Natalia Milosz-Piekarska, Fresh! 2007 finalist and recipient of the Craft Victoria Retail/Production Mentorship award, The Passenger is a group of works that explores the symbiotic relationship between jewellery and its wearer. Kicking off our A Month About Making program, Natalia's exhibition in the enCOUNTER window will be on display until 17 August.

"I aim to make work that we can build a relationship with, be it through a familiar association it carries, or purely through intrigue, a desire to touch, play, or interact.

Over the years I have researched folk art, primitive art and various aspects of spirituality; however, most recently I have been looking into symbiosis/mutualism, the reciprocal relationship between two beings, where both benefit from each other's existence. I have found this to be a fitting metaphor for my exploration of the relationship between jewellery and its wearer.

I want to emulate this theme by creating pieces of jewellery that not only the wearer benefits from, but seemingly the favour is reciprocated, where the jewellery also benefits from the wearer. There is a mutual companionship, the jewellery/character, joining the wearer in their journeys, the wearer acting as a sanctuary and mode of transport.

Most of pieces use timber as the main material with a wide range of accompanying elements such as leather, enamel, found object, paint etc. They are generally quite animated and colourful, reflecting anthropomorphic qualities."

No comments: