'In the Loupe' Exhibition - In conjunction with Plymouth Art Weekender
An eclectic mix of jewellery to celebrate our 10th anniversary.
Celebrating the director’s Victoria Sewart’s educational routes in contemporary jewellery ‘in the loupe’ brings together a vibrant collection of work created by artists, educators, researchers, and practitioners from The School of Jewellery, Birmingham City University and Plymouth College of Art and Design.
This eclectic mix of work on show spans the breadth of the jewellery discipline from commercial to contemporary, to handcrafted and digital technologies. These talented jewellers like to experiment with a variety of concepts, materials and processes and this exhibition showcases the diversity of this subject area. They are united by their curiosity for experimentation which builds knowledge and expertise within a particular specialism. It’s this variety of individual directions which underpin the educational experience for students at both institutions which ultimately drives the field forward and feeds the innovation seen in our gallery today.
Each jeweller has an established their own unique voice and the eclectic mix of work on show ranges from hyper decorative excessive ornamentation of intricate details, to bold vibrant and colourful forms. Concepts that transform thoughts and feelings, to jewellery that shocks, jewellery that is interactive and invites playful encounter, to those experimenting with material alchemy, reinventing materials and exploring cutting edge digital technologies
All of which gives you a glimpse at what’s ‘in the loupe’
Z O E R O B E RT S O N
Award winning jewellery artist Zoe Robertson’s explores themes relating to jewellery within performance. She creates theatrically sized jewellery, experiments on the edges of the discipline and enjoys working collaboratively. The interdisciplinary nature of her works moves beyond jewellery and into the fields of performance, sound, and dance. This cross disciplinary approach enables her to create experiential and immersive environments which invite audience interaction and participation. As seen in her latest solo exhibition www.flockOmania.com. She is co-founder of The Dual Works an artist studio based in the heart of the Jewellery Quarter and her work is exhibited within an international arena
S A L L Y C O L L I N S
Enter the world of the Superfrilly; revel in extraneous detail and superfluous fancies, delight in frilly fripperies and ornamented overload and become a frill seeker! Sally Collins explores hyper decorative and excessive ornamentation in jewellery pieces fashioned from miniature metal structures, teeny tiny crochet and characterful fabric forms in sugary sweet pastel tones. Layers and layers of intricate detail are built up into wearables that play with the blurred boundary between jewellery and fashion.
J O P O N D
‘By modifying and transforming everyday materials to jewellery, Jo Pond invests them with the power to enchant or fascinate us. At the same time, her works become the vehicles for narratives that reach out beyond the here and now. Her handling of transient objects imbues them with lasting value as art. And as wearers of this jewellery, she gives us a new means to express our attitudes and values.’ Jorunn Veiteberg.
Exhibiting on an international platform, Jo’s current touring solo show In.ti.mate launched at Velvet da Vinci, San Francisco and explores the duplication of laser welded structures through traditional casting means.
R A C H A E L C O L L E Y 
Rachael Colley is a Lecturer in jewellery design and related products at Birmingham City University’s School of Jewellery. She is a member of the Research Centre for Creative Making (S.T.U.F.F) and the Fashion and Textiles Research Group (FTRG) within ADM. She holds an MA in Goldsmithing, silversmithing, metalwork and Jewellery from the Royal College Art. Her practice-led research explores the fleeting and complex nature of human existence, predominantly using jewellery and objects as modes of expression. Her current research seeks to defamiliarise everyday organic materials and re-present them to resemble historic social signifiers, precious gemstones and objects of value.
D A U V I T A L E X A N D E R
For many years, I have been fascinated by the jewellery of the European Renaissance, jewellery which was a glorious, allegorical, blackly humorous, alchemical mess. It was a triumph of skill and material over taste. It mixed precious with semiprecious with worthless, a riot of colour and shape. It was hugeand overblown. It verged on the unwearable, comfort sacrificed,preferring to make statements about the wearer’s beliefs, power andmoney. I work within similar parameters, often taking a text as a starting-point for a piece, but instead of working with gold or rare and costly jewels, I use found objects and scrap materials – iron, steel, pieces of crashed cars – combining them with traditional skills to create pieces of jewellery for the bold and the brave.
C L A I R E P R I C E
Claire is inspired by the design potential for 3D printing and the opportunities that Computer Aided Design and digital technology offer. She explores a variety of materials through the development of wearable art and products. Message and meaning form a context to her work containing an element of romanticism. She creates an entity of beauty and purity, using the whiteness of the medium, highlighted with accents of gold.
M A R I A W H E T M A N
Raw, cool designs featuring pure Tin; a heritage material with timeless, classic appeal. Artisan craftsmanship and modern, fresh thinking bring together the mineral qualities of Copper, Mica, Iron, Pyrite, Tourmaline, Silver and Tin, in a palette of earthy tones. My “Material Landscape Jewels” feature mineral and metal layers, encapsulated compositions of the undulating, scarred mining landscape which inspired them; the beautiful borderlands of the Tamar Valley. Achieved using my own methodology, the processes which were applied to the landscape – once the largest copper, tin and arsenic mine site in the world – have instead been applied to the production of each “Jewel” and each “TinScruff”.
A N N A L O R E N Z
The square is one of the main motifs of Anna’s visual language who works freely across the disciplines of Jewellery, Silversmithing and Sculpture. The work is diverse and multi layered, developed through a ‘thoughtful spontaneity’ with a minimalist aesthetic. Her studio practice is process based and she utilizes a range of materials to explore layering, depth, absence and presence and aims to transcend pure materiality in order to allow for individual interpretations and associations. Anna is based The Jewellery Quarter and works part time as a lecturer on the BA Jewellery Design and Related Products course at BCU.
SIAN HINDLE
The Rings for Collaborative Drawing series encapsulates the idea that we only really know who we are in conversation with others. These rings allow the ‘wearers’ to capture that dialogue in a drawing, documenting the push and pull between individuals as they work together. The smaller pieces are created for two people, but the larger, graphite piece can be worn and used by many, many more. This series is informed by my doctoral research, which explores how we use jewellery to tell ourselves and others who we are.
B E A U L A G H B R O O K S
Award winning Silversmith and Graduate of the RCA, Beaulagh’s distinctive style explores geometric and natural forms in perfect harmony creating pieces with clean lines and sensuous shapes.
With a passion for moving metal, Beaulagh uses her innovative development of Anti-clastic Raising combined with more traditional methods of hammer-work such as Sin-Clastic Raising, Fold-forming, Chasing and Repousee to produce unique pieces with personality. Specialising in bespoke contemporary design commissions for numerous international clients.
Beaulagh is the Programme Leader for the BA course at Birmingham City University and the Co-Founder of Centrepunch Ltd as well as the Creative Director of BSC Design.
B R I D I E L A N D E R
INFO COMING SOON
K A T E T H O R L E Y
INFO COMING SOON
F E R N R O B I N S O N
Fern is fascinated with a human’s temptation to touch and play; therefore, tactile urge plays an integral role within her jewellery, if not with interactive elements then with contrasting material qualities. The outcomes are vivid, fun, mixed media structures that enhance the role of the wearer to active participant.