Pearl Necklace

The tears of the gods
or the very opposite of bling.
A matronly accessory
A cool great aunt
I can’t quite decide

With Pearl Necklace I am challenging materials and the oversized.

I find the process of making ‘jewellery’ poetic. The pearls laying in arching waves, unleashing the subconscious, inner psyches and desires. But, rather than surrealism, I am keener on dada – it’s humour, satire about immediate material, social, human, reality, conditions and experience as well as the making influencing the final form (which may or may not be useful, serious, novelty or gimmicky).

As an artist, I am a slow grower and like revisiting old work - two steps forward, one step back, around the houses. These pearls were cast in 2009 and finally knotted together with clasp in 2018.

Pearls have always been with us, slung around necks, political, for so long. Stuffy and found gathering dust in jewellery boxes, at least the material speaks to us, unlike other gems, softening a hard look.

Pearls are anything but stuffy, seashell jewellery comes and goes. Must have accessories. How to present them, who wears them? Looking at external influences, for instance in fashion — in terms of trends, change and sourcing materials — these ongoing questions, take time to answer.

Artwork details

Title: Pearl Necklace
Year: 2018
Materials: Iridescent resin, metal clasp
Dimensions: 457cm x 5cm

Exhibited

Spike Open – Spike Island, Bristol UK, 2018
Collaborators 5 – Roaming Room, London UK, 2018

Photography by Lisa Scantlebury.