Studio 20/17 The Conduit

I finally have done it!  I have posted an exhibition before the event.  Studio 20/17 has been kind enough to host my Maser of Fine Art graduating work.  This is my first real solo exhibition since the late 1980's.  That's right, since the 1980's.   Back then it was my graduation from the University of Tasmania.  It wasn't called that then, but I can't remember what it was.  

I had just married Nick, who helped so much to set up that show, as well as setting up this one.  He made the stands for that show, too, though then they were covered in glass, painted black and lined with green fabric.  Thank you Nick.  I wish that we had taken photos but it didn't happen - no camera.  Not only did I have his help but I also had the help of lots of friends - one will be helping with this show also (thank you Matt).  Last time his band played at the opening, this time he will be bumping out.  Nick's brother, Brendan Hackett, who came over to Tasmania to help set up, has helped to paint the new stands for my work. Thank you Brendan. Some of the other people who helped me with that graduation show are still friends with me today.  Others have been busy making their own life, and others have died.  I miss them all even now.

For this exhibition there are new friends helping, some are taking care of naughty children (thank you Beka and Deb), others are hosting us in their home while we are traveling (thank you Siegi).  A new friend, who recommended me for this exhibition,  also wrote an essay for the occasion.  Thanks Zoe.  Here it is:

What’s a memory?

Something warm, my child, something warm.

Something from long ago, me lad, something from long ago.

Something that makes you cry, my boy, something that makes you cry.

Something that makes you laugh, my darling, something that makes you laugh. 

Something as precious as gold, young man, something as precious as gold. 1

Conduit is an exhibition of work by metalsmith Mary Hackett that explores the relationship between hand, metal, motion and form. 

These pieces are about the hand. The hand that made them, the hand that will hold them, and memory of the hand in its absence. Hackett is interested in how the hand remembers objects that it has previously held, not only the physical and common act of grasping, holding, or touching an object, but the associated memories that accompany such an action.

It is the process of making that Hackett is fascinated by, how the hammer, as an extension of the hand, can stretch and compress the metal, how far can she push until it has reached or gone beyond its limit? There is no backward step in her process, just a continuing on, a pushing forward and she readily admits that it is the hand, not the eye that knows when an object is ready.

Blacksmithing is by no means a quiet, clean or gentle pursuit, on the contrary it is steeped in male tradition and history and it requires much force, technique, and physical exertion to succeed. It seems almost incongruous that these modest objects have been created with such force; perhaps this is why the marks of making have not been erased, to remind us how and why these objects came to exist.

Each piece is a whole, with no joins or additions, raised or forged from the one piece of metal. Each copper and steel piece originates from the same source, a pipe. A conduit. Not only then is the exhibition title particularly apt for this reason, but a nod to the conveying of hand and memory into motion and form.  

They sit on plinths up high, allowing you to investigate from all angles and the milky white surface they occupy reflects back another ethereal side of the object. They are placed in the space in such a way that they speak to one another, relating memories and forms back, forth and around each other. These pieces invite you to touch, to hold and cradle them, to pick them up and grasp them. They ask you to wonder how they would sit in your hand, question if would you hold them close or at arms length. Are they heavy or light?  Are they cold to the touch?  Do they warm quickly? 

What is it they remind you of? 

 Zoe Brand curator and jeweller

¹ Fox, M. ‘Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge’, Omnibus Books, South Australia, 2012. 

Broken 2

Flower

Venus

Studio 20/17 - For the Love of Coffee

I seem to have a habit of writing about an exhibition long gone.

These are images from For The Love Of COFFEE an exhibition held at Studio 20/17 which was curated by Zoe BrandVernon Bowden.  I was unable to attend but I have been told that it looked fabulous.  Other makers who participated:  

Vernon Bowden, Karen Thompson, Erin Keys & Regine Middleton, Alice Potter, Bic Tieu, Linda Blair, Nina Baker, Barbara Cotter, Elizabeth Shaw, Melinda Young, Regine Schwarzer.

We were given a questionnaire on the importance of coffee in our life:

Q1) On a scale of 1 - 10 (ten being the most) what is your level of obsession/need

for coffee?

8

Q2) How would you describe the level of your daily coffee intake?

I need one coffee a day and then I am happy.

Q3) What does your coffee routine entail?

I have my one coffee at the beginning of my day, unless it is the weekend or in the city

when I have two a day. My morning coffee is made on the stove first thing in the morning.

The only hassle is - who is willing to climb out of a warm snug bed to make it.

Q4) How do you take your coffee?

I have a black espresso, with honey at home. In the city I may I have an extra, which is a

caffé latte (yum) again with honey.

Q5) Could you give us a short anecdote about coffee and your jewellery practice?

I visited a woman whom I admire. Her work is as strong as her opinions and, as it

turns out, her coffee. She poured espressos as I poured out my anxieties. I had

recently completed a post graduate course and felt overwhelmed with fears as I was

struck with the realisation that life was not just about me. I was creatively inert with

panic. We chatted for a long time as the rain came down in torrents outside. It was

cold out but the coffee warmed our hands as they wrapped around mugs. We chatted

about teaching, learning and making through the fear. Her wisdom warmed my soul,

her coffee woke me up. I went home and worked as I hadn’t in a while. That pot of coffee

is responsible for my latest work - for better or for worse.

That is a true story of the work and there is more information about these pieces on The Can Project.

Oh Opal! at Studio 20/17

Studio 20/17, in Sydney, is hosting the Oh! Opal exhibition which was first held at Redox Studio in Geelong.

Oh Opal! is an exploration of the opal from the research jewellery group Part B.
The participating Part B members were Justine Austen, Dianne Beevers, Femi Coppi, Susan Frisch, Mary Hackett, Jill Hermans, Gillian Hillman, Inari Kiuru, Claire McArdle, Karyn Nankivell, Christine Scott-Young, Justin Slow, Karen Thompson, Amy Zubick.


It’s a conundrum! What to do with the opal? Why don’t more Australians love it? Melbourne-based research jewellery group Part B takes on the challenge of exploring the history and legend surrounding the opal and bringing a new fire to this strange and alluring gemstone.

Since Roman times, the world has been fascinated by the opal. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were great proponents of this mysterious gemstone, and Art Nouveau master René Lalique used it to great effect in his jewellery designs. It has been perceived as both good luck and bad luck (the latter sometimes attributed to the 1829 novel ‘Anne of Geierstein’ by Sir Walter Scott, among other factors). Moving into the twenty-first century, the creative director of Dior Fine Jewellery, Victoire de Castellane, is often quoted declaring her love of Australian opals. This coincides with the recent wave of interest in the gemstone from other big European jewellery houses.  In Australia, however, the opal still languishes, perhaps a result of one too many souvenir teaspoons. But given our bounty of these brilliantly-coloured beauties (Australia’s opal fields are bigger than the rest of the world’s combined), surely there is more to be done to improve the opal’s lot! This is just the kind of challenge that Part B loves…

                                                                                                               Christine Scott-Young

Only trouble is the show is nearly over!

There are images of the work and a blog post.  I wish that I was able to attend the opening.  I also wish that I could organise myself to write sooner.

Thanks to Bridget, Mel and Zoe for organising the Sydney show and for Annie of Redox Studio for the Geelong show.