20 October – 7 November 2015 – 'Autonomous Jewellery' by Zoe Veness

‘Autonomous Jewellery’ by Zoe Veness

21 October – 7 November 2015

Please join us for celebration drinks on Saturday 24th October 4-6pm.

Artist Statement

In the mid-twentieth century British psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott developed his theory of the transitional object to explore the significance of the child’s use of the blanket or teddy bear to sooth the anxiety of separating from the mother. Winnicott’s transitional object as well as qualities of his writing like playfulness, simplicity of language, and an emphasis on paradox and contradiction inspires my doctoral research of the sculptural dimension of jewellery. Through the paradox of autonomy this exhibition examines the idea of jewellery as simultaneously supplemental and self-sufficient, as forms that are both separated from and connected to the body.

Investigations in this research gradually increase in scale through the process of fusing two ends of a long strand of concertina-folded paper. These necklaces interrogate sculptural presence and autonomy in the mind of the viewer, as they are almost impossible to wear however, they entice the viewer to enter the void space rendered by the loop form. The display methods of the table and plinths are inspired by the grid pattern on a large cutting mat that lines my bench. I am interested in the idea that the grid supports both the transformation of sheets of paper in my studio and the final three-dimensional outcomes in the gallery space.