‘A YEAR OF TIME 1:30’ by Bridget Kennedy
6 – 24 February 2018
Opening drinks Wednesday 6th December 6-8pm
to be opened by Alison Clark, Team Leader, Arts and Culture, North Sydney Council
Free coiling workshop: Book to come along and ‘make some time’ and a simple coil basket, Saturday 9th December, 11:30am
‘A Year Of Time’ is the result of a year as ‘Artist in Residence’ at 53 Ridge Street North Sydney. For the last 9 years, part of Bridget Kennedy’s art practice has been placed within the gallery or public arena. ‘Gallery as Practice’ has provided an opportunity to observe participation and exchange between jewellery and objects, and the community. The experience of how people interact with the jewellery-object, the values placed on the works and the choices made, has increased a curiosity in exploring these ideas further.
This installation of small handheld woven basket-like objects was made over the calendar year of 2017; sometimes during shared public ‘craft and coffee’ events held at the gallery but also in private. ‘A Year Of Time’ is a physical manifestation of the observation of the passing of one calendar year, highlighting the labour of the handmade. A log of the minutes taken to stitch each object was kept, and a small silver disc with these details was stamped and attached to each object, every minute representing 30 minutes of time in a calendar year. Created from natural fibres and recycled plastic bags, primarily sourced from her home environment, the work is process driven, with each object evolving in relation to the previous one.
The installation explores notions of value and exchange and invites the viewer to ‘purchase’ an individual object by exchanging either the equivalent amount of time or in monetary currency, the number of minutes that the buyer considers that time is worth.
A_year_of_time_roomsheet with RRP HH:MM
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Bridget Kennedy is a contemporary jewellery and installation artist based in Lane Cove and director of Studio 20/17 Project Space. The use of diverse non-precious and organic materials with traditionally precious materials in her exhibition work continues ongoing enquiries into environmental fragility, impermanence, the share economy, choice and value. This extends into her jewellery studio practice, with a focus on ‘remakeries’. Utilising recycled materials, and client’s existing gold and gemstones, she creates new contemporary heirlooms.
Kennedy completed an Advanced Diploma in Jewellery and Object Design in 2005. She has directed an artist run contemporary jewellery and object gallery since 2008, supporting Australian and International artists, and has co-ordinated more than 100 exhibitions. She has taught part-time privately, at various community colleges, and currently teaches casually at UNSWAD. She has been a finalist in the National Contemporary Jewellery Award, was awarded first prize in Graduate Metal X, and has won both the emerging and established categories of the JMGA-NSW Profile Award. She has held numerous solo exhibitions and participated in group shows both nationally and internationally. In 2015 she completed a Masters in Studio Art at Sydney College of the Arts.
Kennedy is also involved in a number of social enterprises, as a founding member of the ‘The Repair Café Sydney North’, and ‘The Seedling’ a sustainable development in the Philippines. In her spare time she is a passionate permaculture gardener and was honoured to be invited to open her garden for the final program of ABC Open Gardens Australia.