I visited The Powerhouse Museum in Sydney over the weekend to see A Fine Possession – Jewellery & Identity; it was a spectacular and dramatic exhibition of jewellery from antiquity to present contemporary collections.
It was thrilling to see a piece of mine placed amongst many contemporaries I admire, and it was equally profound to see it within a lineage of jewellery from a range of makers, cultures, and periods in time.
Being a craftsperson in a contemporary art context can have its challenges. It’s hardly a life supporting career choice, except perhaps for a few of us. Many makers have to work at least one other job to sustain their practice, and so you continue to make in less than ideal circumstances.
So, it’s greatly inspiring to walk into such a significant exhibition such as A Fine Possession in such a great location as The Powerhouse. It reminds me that making is worth the time and sacrifices, when you can see evidence of the contribution you can make to a wider dialogue about art, craft and adornment; it says something more broadly about the human condition, in a very personal way.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Across ‘continents and cultures’ A Fine Possession – Jewellery & Identity at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney from September 24, 2014 will be an exhibition sure to delight all the senses and to inspire the imagination.
This show is all about the stories the jewels tell as an ongoing aspect of the evolution of our society and culture because the costume we wear is a footnote to culture, and a forever changing and eternal form of human expression.
Curator Eva Czernis-Ryl has produced an outstanding exhibition for the Powerhouse Museum (Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences) at Sydney.
“A fine possession” she observed, will appeal to those with “an interest in creative jewellery from different periods and cultures”.