Thursday, November 11, 2010

The power of fragments




Living in a rural, coastal village I often walk and forage along unpaved roads and beaches. Pieces of broken and forgotten objects catch my attention and evoke further investigation into their origins and use value as a material. I analyse them in terms of manipulation, for example earlier this year I found fragments of plastic fencing and garden mesh on the beach and while rummaging through a white elephant stall started a collection of old wooden bowls, both inspiring structural materials that I currently use.

I am a Bricoleur

Touchable series

Materials: thread, plastic mesh, acrylic paint, brass, copper, silver

Materials: irrigation pipe, thread


Materials: wooden bowl, irrigation pipe, thread, acrylic paint, paper
An aspect of bricolage is where people obtain objects from one culture or context and use it to create new sub-cultures or identies. A well known example of this would be the Punk movement where the safety pin became a form of decoration. Likewise, New Zealand Contemporary Jewelleries Bone, Stone, Shell movement hybridised materials and processes from across cultural divisions to give new connotations that essentially questioned issues of preciousness, the use of non-traditional materials and techniques, a concept which strongly influences my own practice.