NOW
& THEN
A
remarkable exhibition of contemporary and antique jewellery exploring
the timeless themes of power and politics, life and death, laughter
and love.
Sentiment
& Sex
Here we celebrate jewels with the power to seduce - or even to scandalize
and look at the language of love, lust and longing – as expressed
through jewels and stones. Jerwood prize-winning jeweller Adam Paxon
creates bold acrylic jewellery which takes its influence from organic
forms and nature’s colourful language of warning and courtship.
His vibrant pieces, with names such as ‘Squirming' ring and
‘Spondylitis' neckpiece often attach to the body or clothing
in unusual ways, giving new approaches to wearability - and a new
meaning to ‘wearing your heart on your sleeve’!
By crushing and pulverizing precious gemstones such as sapphires,
rubies and emeralds, then reforming them using molten gold or silver,
Kelvin J Birk creates his intriguing rings in which the cooled,
set metal holds or encloses the fragments of stones. Often working
with second-hand or inherited pieces of jewellery, this process
retains the
sentiment of the original in the unique ‘freeform’ piece
that emerges and expresses Kelvin’s belief that ‘nothing
is constant, everything is transient … loss gives rise to
new things … the constant circle of creation and destruction
is unstoppable’. Now & Then’s examples of beautiful
REGARD brooches and rings show how, by using a sequence of Ruby,
Emerald, Garnet, Amethyst, Ruby and Diamond, the Victorians used
stones in their own way to capture sentiments and messages. Similarly,
floral bouquet brooches, often given as romantic gifts, were used
by lovers to express sentiments such as love (rose), kiss (mistletoe),
innocence (daisy). By beautiful contrast, the internationally renowned
jeweller, Georg Dobler, shows his sumptuous brooches – silver
and gold cast branches, foliage, flowers and fruit – rich
and heavy with decadent stones.
Now
& Then runs from 17th July to 28th September 2008.
Salts Mill is open weekdays from 10am – 5.30pm and weekends
10am – 6pm. For further information call 01274 599790.
