Emma Louise Bugg - Concrete Jewellery
My passion for creating jewellery comes from a background in sculpture. Satisfaction is achieved from the alchemy-like processes involved in transforming a flat sheet of metal into a piece of jewellery to adorn the body. Incorporating concrete into my work has become a major focus, stemming from an interest in studying architectural line and form. Inspiration is drawn from architects such as Santiago Calatrava, Kochi Architect’s Studio and Wood/Marsh in Melbourne, who work with concrete so masterfully.
Concrete is a natural material that speaks of our man made environment. It is confident, raw and elegant, and set in jewellery, it is surprisingly lightweight. Using it on a reduced scale gives it a new quality and challenges how we perceive this material, of which we are more familiar on a scale much grander. On mass, in the form of a building, concrete is valuable, but when it is demolished, the value and permanence disappears. I aim to re install the value by creating something at a more intimate scale, and placing it alongside precious metals and diamonds.
The USB locket comes from an idea of documenting and preserving memories of places that once existed, but in time have been lost to demolition or development; The extinction of place. In a similar way that a traditional locket would hold an image of the deceased and often a lock of hair, this wearable artefact contains a piece of concrete from a demolition site that has been ground down and set on the face. On the memory stick are a series of images documenting the original building to the current stage of rebuild. The site it came from is next to the Argyle St car park, where the new supermarket development is being constructed at present. The content of the USB sticks can be added to with personal photos and stories, to document a lifetime.
With further exploration there are limitless possibilities of where this project can lead. I am researching the use of other building materials and techniques, with the vision of producing a collaborative body of work in conjunction with architects.
Available
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Sold
Clip Art Brooch (a) - SOLD |
Gold Scale Earrings - SOLD |
Gold Scale Necklace - SOLD |
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Pipe Dream - SOLD |
Attachment - SOLD |
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Earrings - Skewiff Earrings - SOLD |
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Rings - Grey Hula Ring - SOLD |
Rings - Red Oxide Ring - SOLD |