The Jewel and the Jeweller’s first residency, funded by Creative New Zealand, features the work of Jennifer Laracy and Sam Kelly. The exhibition, titled ‘Self Contained’, is on show from 31st October- 12th December 2020
Self-Contained: A residency of Co-habitants
Two makers, one shipping container and stories told through objects; in Self-Contained, we witness the practices of Sam Kelly and Jennifer Laracy unfurl. From the lively shop of The Jewel and the Jeweller, we know there is a working partnership here, a vibrant communal space, a pair of fine artists influencing and supporting others. In this strange year of isolation and distance, they are refreshingly uncontained.
In Self-Contained, Kelly and Laracy have set themselves the task of becoming artists in residence and creating a body of work. This project offers an intriguing view into the creative places these jewellers tread when they are not teaching us, setting our stones, fixing our beloved heirlooms, and functioning as a haven of creativity and collegiality in our community. These works are souvenirs of souvenirs, of conversations that return, wash over us again and again, reflections on mentors and time just out of reach. The gestures of tribute to family, imperfections celebrated, and life made beautiful.
In Aotearoa, there is an intense relationship with materials, weighted in emotional and Pacific histories. But, like so much that they do, Laracy and Kelly navigate these waters with grace and integrity. In a gesture of loving tribute to her grandfather, Laracy has been making under the working title, ‘Souvenir of a Souvenir, a tribute to Morris Win’. In this project, she limits her palette to the paua shell gifted from her grandfather, a WWII veteran and POW. Win was an esteemed jeweller and graduate of the Disabled Serviceman’s Re-establishment League and in these works, Laracy gives space to things our hands know that our minds cannot express.
Sam Kelly shares a similar material passion, although hers is expressed in bone. To source her material, Kelly engages in a physically intensive and at times gruesome relationship with the bone. The physicality of the transformation gives the white and clean surfaces even more value to Kelly. Applying the tools, training, and concepts of jewellery to this material is particularly freeing for Kelly in the Pacific context. Drawing inspiration from architecture and walks around her neighbourhood, it is not surprising to see Kelly’s forms swing from jewellery to sculpture and back again.
In Self-Contained, both makers use jewellery techniques to express a language of things that cannot always be spoken. In a field where there is the temptation to prioritise theory and artistic flair over the experience of the wearer, Laracy and Kelly hit the mark technically, artistically and functionally. In partnership, Laracy and Kelly have put everything on the line to form a business, teach, repair, and inspire, leaving little time to look at their own practice. In this exhibition, we get a glimpse of their work unfettered by practical constraints.
We, the patrons, are grateful for all they do in this contained space and most especially for their generosity of spirit. These objects highlight the other facet of their practice and give us a peek into the world of internationally respected contemporary jewellers, Jennifer Laracy and Sam Kelly.
- Kristin D’Agostino
October 2020
