High tech, fine craftsmanship fuse in wearable jewelry

By Parvathi Nayar Narayan

JAKARTA (JP): 'Triptych' is a traveling exhibition that brings to Jakarta the concept of wearable jewelry viewed as works of art.

The price tag is perhaps more for the designer than the material -- unlike traditional jewelry fashioned from expensive materials and often by nameless creators. The pieces in 'Triptych' are also distinct from branded jewelry like say Monet, being hand-crafted and one-of-a-kind.

The name 'Triptych' was chosen because the exhibitors fall into three categories -- students, previous graduates and lecturers from North Adelaide School of Art and the University of South Australia. The show was essentially assembled by the lecturers; they picked the best from their own work and from past and present students.

The emphasis is both on design and craft skills; it is interesting to note that the pieces on display were produced entirely by their designers from start to finish.

Some of the designers needed assistance from the world of science to create certain special effects, to combine different substances and make them stick together. With the use, for instance, of rare metals like titanium and tantalum, some of the first words that come to mind are 'high tech' and 'cutting edge'.

Wayne McIntosh's brooches Breastplate and Insignia are good examples. The former is 100mm in diameter and, using just titanium and sterling silver, achieves a variety of surface colors and textures. Breastplate is in three layers; a ridged honeycombed center at the base, seen through a disc with a hole in the middle, above which is a quatrefoil loop. To get the surface designs and colors McIntosh has used different heating and etching processes and lasers, exploiting the properties of titanium.

Phil Ward's Arrow Watch is another example, made from substances including anodized aluminum extrusion, titanium and crystal glass. As a working sundial is his other piece, it would seem that it is his watchmaking skills that are on display; within the context of a jewelry show one does wonder if he has perhaps lost the plot just a little.

Of course not all the pieces fall obviously into the 'high tech' category. Sue Graham's jewelry stands out for its inventiveness and quirkiness. She is an artist inspired by feminism. A brooch of Mulga wood and sterling silver is very reminiscent of Cycladic idols from the Early Bronze Age of Aegean Art. Though highly schematic and stylized, the reference to femininity is very apparent. The little figure in Graham's brooch has hair flying everywhere and a pair of tiny silver scissors positioned over the body, representing a desire to break free.

Graham's pieces are not heavy on symbolism or clunky in any way. Her other brooches are tapering chili-shaped forms, again with tiny silver heads and stick figure arms. They are modern but are best described by that old-fashioned adjective, dainty.

Almost baroque by contrast is a sunburst brooch by Melissa Puust, with antlerlike 'rays' radiating from an amber center. Another fine piece of hers is a dragonfly belt buckle. Though the form might appear Lalique-inspired, it is fashioned from industrial materials; optical screws, copper and chrome-plated dome nuts. In Haidee Laws' work there is also a combination of dressy elaborateness with a contemporary industrial idiom.

In the realm of the really unusual to bizarre, there is Steve Sigler with his organic animalesque forms and use of materials like echidna quills and buffalo horn. At the other end of the scale there is Kym Gregory's gold earrings that at a casual glance seem ordinary; a closer look reveals the unusual details of their origami-inspired star shapes and exquisite finish.

Some exhibits do push the wearability aspect to the limit, one of the considerations in designing jewelry. Take Claire Harkin's 'Tea Strainer'. It is certainly an example of fine silver craftsmanship, but its potential as a piece of wearable jewelry is dubious. Perhaps with this and pieces like the outrageously large brooches, we are seeing the creation of a new category of 'exhibition jewelry ' to be seen on walls only. Jane Bowden's geometric necklace is contemporary and smart; however the thought of its sharp corners and angles pressing into one's neck does give pause for thought.

This traveling exhibition has been brought to Jakarta thanks to the efforts of The Helpmann Academy. Founded in 1994 the academy is a consortium created in cooperation with the best visual and performing arts courses from 9 partner schools. The aims include promotional activities, pooling resources, raising funds and offering professional training, said the coordinator David Meldrum. The academy is rather unusual, and Meldrum himself is aware of only one other similar organization, in Germany.

'Triptych', said Meldrum, is a deliberate attempt at marketing the art courses and attracting potential students. People tend to have preconceptions about Australian art and creativity, so there is a degree of shock value, it is hoped, at seeing work of this caliber from South Australia.

Marketing and art might appear to be strange bedfellows, as many people believe that art and creativity should rise above the realm of commercialism. The reality is that in today's world marketing is a function that applies to all spheres of life from people to products to philosophies. And even to art. One doesn't buy what is not marketed.

The selection of jewelry on show at 'Triptych' at the Cemara 6 Galeri Kafe is of a uniformly high standard of craftsmanship. At the same time the feel is so high tech and contemporary there is even a web site for it. So if you cannot make it to the exhibition, feel free to browse through the catalog at http://ww.unisa.edu.au/jewelry.jewelry.html.