IN DIALOGUE

September 7th - 15th, 2019

Our group consists of 6 individuals who became friends more that ten years ago while studying contemporary jewellery in Germany. We later went our separate ways, some continued with their studies while others undertook research in other fields. The process of dispersion led to Bangkok, Halle (Saale), Stuttgart, Saarbrucken and Galway. We organised lots of exhibitions while we were together in Germany and these exhibitions were more than the sum of their parts. They were events that ignited conversation and presented contemporary jewellery to a very broad audience.

For this exhibition we intend to respond creatively to each other’s works. These responses won’t necessarily take the form of contemporary jewellery, on the contrary. We believe that multi-disciplinary responses could provide visitors with a tool with which to engage with the jewellery. We would also invite visitors to participate by also responding.

As the title of our exhibition suggests, we want to open a dialogue with the public who will visit the exhibition. We have all worked passionately in the creative field of contemporary jewellery and we recognise the importance of reaching the public through exhibitions and installations of work. One of our most successful previous exhibitions did this by carefully considering the experience of the visitor within the context of the exhibition space and by asking for their participation. The response and engagement we received far exceeded our expectations.

In support of the jewellery, we present also multi-disciplinary responses by the exhibiting artists to each other’s work. In addition to our own responses, we also invite visitors to respond to the jewellery.

THE ARTISTS

CHERRY BOONYAPAN

It appears that life and death are both numbered. Time governs all aspects of our lives from the most meaningful to the least significant and everything in between. The work explores the influence that time and death has in shaping our attitude towards grief, mourning, bereavement, and life itself.
Through the use of simple materials in this exhibition, we might be able to achieve a more human approach to life. An approach that less fixated on time, but living our lives fully.

MARIE GREWENIG

My means of expression is the body. With it, I can visualise gestures and emotions that have different meanings. I focus on parts or actions that appear profane and self-evident. The resulting imprints of the body form new bodies that seem familiar yet strange, creating the urge to explore the shapes and find out what lies behind them.

NIKLAS LINK

In search of my totem I observe my environment and let myself be influenced by culture. It is an individual process in which I understand the self-portrait as a possibility of self-questioning. The freedom of a mask, the personality of a caricature and the generality of a symbol form the framework for my jewellery.

LILITH BECKER

From the first gaze between a mother and new-born, to the dizzy sight of the last moment, our eyes are tools for constructing our reality. As our past and future form a present, every glimpse of an eye could be a collective desperate grasp for eternity. An eternity that shivers with every twinkle, a fistful of sticky thread that we slowly get tangled up in.

SARAH SCHUSCHKLEB

For me, jewellery is sculpture on the body. Sculpture and body have a symbiotic relationship with each other. If you wear jewellery, you become a performer. Jewellery is challenging. Each movement is a conscious or unconscious reaction to the worn pieces.

JULIE CONNELLAN

Jewellery highlights the individual specifically but it also points to the society which produces, sanctions and values it. It is this complexity of meaning, between the public and private, that fascinates me.