New Zealand Body Adornment is unique and very alive. Its future is bright and promising.
Drawing from the Pacific rim as well as its own Maori and Emigrant history, the sources of inspiration are immeasurably rich.
The makers are very passionate and their work evolves through their vision.
The origins of New Zealand contemporary jewellery are very young. Often the influence of the earlier pioneers is still strong. Since 1986 several New Zealand polytechnics have offered body adornment programmes through their visual art and craft design courses. As a result we now enjoy a steady stream of exciting new artists.
Today many galleries and dealers in applied arts would not survive without the inclusion of New Zealand contemporary jewellery. This demonstrates the positive response of the public towards the New Zealand body adornment.
This nation is hugely diverse in its people and their minds, rich in its resources, visually stunning, vibrant in its colours. New Zealand makers reflect this in a variety of ways through their work shown in the gallery pages.
Peter Deckers
Contemporary Jewellery Body Adornment Aotearoa
The unique nature of Contemporary Jewellery, Body Adornment in Aotearoa, was recognised in the 1980s by the buying/viewing public as expressing a sense of Pacific Place through the use of regional materials and images. The Dowse Art Museum presented shows reflecting this, that had earlier been generated by Fingers exhibitions, and these in turn lead to shows documented in catalogues such as Bone Stone Shell from the Crafts Council and the three Jewellery Biennales, Open Heart, Same But Different and Turangawaewae, from the Dowse Art Museum. All of these shows were curated and reflect a particular view of the curator. Workshop Six have also generated a catalogued, video show, Pretty.
Fine collections of work are held by the Dowse Art Museum and The Auckland Museum. Te Papa Tongarewa holds Bone Stone Shell as it's collection.
Tertiary institutions with thriving jewellery departments both in activity and facilities include Otago Polytechnic, Christchurch Polytechnic, Nelson Polytechnic, Unitec, Whitireia Polytechnic Porirua, Hungry Creek at Puhoi, and Manukau Institute of Technology. There is a degree of communication between the makers in the community and the students and staff of the institutions. This will be realised in the Jewellery event at the end of 1999 surrounding three shows being held at the Auckland Museum, Turangawaewae, Fingers 25 Years and The Plunderers Eye. Other shows will be mounted by makers from the community and student body.
Alan Preston
Jeweller
January 1999
Contemporary Jewellery Body Adornment Aotearoa sits comfortable in the international jewellery scene while having a unique character that often identifies it as coming from here not there. The small size of this land means that it can be easily accessed by the buyer, viewer, learner, and collector. Fingers in Auckland is a Gallery representing 48 leading New Zealand practitioners. South island venues are characterised by Workshops with attached elegant gallery spaces, Jens Hansen in Nelson, Fluxus and Lure in Dunedin. Many of the artists exhibit in combinations of these venues. Auckland also has Workshop Six, a making venue which offers classes for beginners and hires bench space to makers. In addition to these venues work can be seen in many of the applied art galleries and design stores around the country like Masterworks, Quoil, Compendium, The Vault, Design Connection, Texan Art Schools in Auckland; Avid, Hanne Anderson, The Vault in Wellington; Statements in Napier; Form and Applied Art in Christchurch.
Jeweller
October 1998
