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2011 – March – Words and Things – Karin Findeis and Margaret West

Karin Findeis and Margaret West

1st – 12th March 2011

Celebration Drinks – Thursday 3rd March 6 – 8pm. Opening drinks coincide with the Danks Street Art Month late night opening.

Words and Things : from Beijing to the yard

Some journeys are adventures — to far-off or exotic places, where anything may happen, may be found; where the unexpected is expected, anticipated, desired.  Some, more everyday journeys — to bring in the morning paper, to pull out a few weeds, to feed scraps to the birds — appear routine, unremarkable.  Any of these journeys can bring some event or aspect of the world into sharp focus — astonishing, perplexing, exciting, or perhaps apparently insignificant, on the surface, trivial.  Viewed through the loupe of association, even the most inconsequential things or events can assume unexpected significance, which might seem disproportionate to their apparent role in the world.  They become enriched with endowed meaning.

Karin Findeis has collected items and materials from her travels, most recently in China.  Margaret West has garnered observations from the familiar but always surprising area of her own garden.  These two artists have shaped and assembled a variety of materials into a collection of jewels that celebrate their observations and experiences.  Each is a note, a memorandum of an item found or a moment experienced.  Precious evidence that the thing has been.  Has happened.

Margaret West is an artist who sometimes makes jewellery; she writes — mostly poetry and essays; she is also a gardener who admires both roses and dandelions. Observations of the natural world and concern about political issues often instigate the development of work. She employs a variety of materials and processes in both her large and small scale work, as indicated by the theme under development. These, in turn, play their role in determining the focus and form of the work.

Karin Findeis makes jewellery which draws on broad interests and curiosities, such as belief systems, history, language, science and photography. The underlying ideas behind her work consider jewellery as fragments and remnants: as visual narratives that have evolved from the origins of history, culture, and curious fascinations. In 1999 she completed her Masters degree under the supervision of Margaret West, satisfying an interest in bringing together writing and making. Karin and Margaret have continued to be friends since then.

 

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