Strange Things

These objects, some of which are mysterious and opaque in their origins, have been given a new life and a wider audience by translating or transporting them from a box or drawer, into something that may be worn or displayed to invite a conversation. Adding to these objects with a sterling silver element is a contemplative action, allowing time to consider the origins and history of these pieces. Any work undertaken on these items is reversible, thus enabling them to return to their ‘natural’ state at some point.

http://www.artisan.org.au/strange-objects/ 
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​F Tanner Baker Micro Gallery, Rozelle, Sydney, NSW

2019

Left to right: Lead washer | Well used vintage copper shoe tap | Spring Valley juice lid, found on the road | Hand made nail from the United States. Gift from a fellow collector | Ointment or toothpaste tube, partially melted, found on Lady Elliot Island, Queensland | Photo: Michell Bowden, Visuall

These pieces were given to me by a member of the family I grew up next door to, who lived ‘over’ the fence. These pieces evoke a range of emotions about family and history as well as ‘over’: gratitude for wonderful and long-lasting relationships, sadness for people no longer with us, laughter at the odd things that we as humans collect and hold precious. I have connected the 5 items onto a central ring to hold them together and to represent their singular origin. Left to right | Fragment of a clay pigeon found on the beach at Limeburners Point, Geelong, VIC | Royal Women’s Hospital fundraising badge, possibly 1960’s | A beautifully formed shell collected from shared beach holidays on Phillip Island at Christmas time | A German porcelain Christmas pudding baby | A battered 10 cent piece. | In the Drawer | Photo: Michelle Bowden, Visuall

In the Drawer, Small Space Jewellery, Radiant Pavilion 2019

2017

Left to Right | Copper nail, found in Cimetière du Père Lachaise, Paris, c1990. | Bottle cap, found on Grey Street, South Bank, 2017. | 3. Portion of bronze ornament, origin unknown | Jewellers/watchmakers draw-plate, bought in a market in Geneva, Switzerland. Gift from a fellow collector, 2016. | Bronze coil. Collected during travels in Asia. | [Why Jewellery 2] | Photo: Michelle Bowden, Visuall

Left to Right: Coral collected from a North Queensland beach, 1983. | Vintage Convex Optician Test Lens, collected in London c1990. | Glass shard, collected from travels in Europe, c1991. | Glass marble, origin unknown. | Glass bottle stopper, Dunolly, Victoria. | Photo: Michelle Bowden, Visuall

​why-jewellery.com

2013 -2015

Left to Right | Impression of a sugar spoon and part of a metal adornment, possibly from clothing or a belt. | Maple leaf picture hook that belonged to my husband’s grandfather who fought in the Canadian Army in WW1. | Silver mezuzah with snake emblem, origin unknown, possibly medical. Inherited from my great-aunt in 1986. | Emperor Hirohito tin whistle from WW2. Belonged to my husband’s grandmother. | Cast-iron architectural ornament, Brisbane. | Photo: Michelle Bowden, Visuall

Left to right | Fanta lid (Cyrillic text), from a bottle purchased in Moscow, 1989. | Moscow souvenir badge depicting St Basil’s Church (Cyrillic text), purchased in Moscow, 1989. | Tin Lid that reads “PIERCE HERE THEN LEVER OPEN”. | Red plastic 1950s button, gift from a friend, 1980s. | ‘Nifty’ sterling silver shirt stud, inherited from my father-in-law. | Photo: Michelle Bowden, Visuall

Left to Right | ‘Moscow Great City’ souvenir badge (Cyrillic text), purchased in Moscow, 1989. | Vietnamese 5 Dong Coin dated 1971. Inherited from my Father in 2008, who brought it back from Vietnam after his last tour as a Team Leader of Volunteer Medical Specialists (Surgical Teams) in Bien Hoa, Vietnam, 1972. | Yugoslavian 20 Dinar coin, collected as change in Yugoslavia, 1990. | Half-penny coin (date indecipherable) from Anzac Park, Toowong. | Indian silver 2 Paisa coin, dated 1891, embellished with decorated edge and with signs that it was possibly used as one of a pair of cufflinks, collected in India in 1983. | Photo: Michelle Bowden, Visuall

Left to Right | Stainless steel tip of a vein stripper, inherited from my father on his retirement from his surgical practice. | Part of bottle, found at a bottle dump Dunolly, Victoria. | Ruskin pottery brooch, made from glaze sample, with broken clasp. Inherited from my great-aunt, 1987. | Earring from Israel. Gift from my oldest friend, 1982. | ‘Nifty’ pointed sterling silver shirt stud, inherited from my father-in-law. | Photo: Michelle Bowden, Visuall

Left to right | Pottery shard collected during travels in Asia. | Keyhole plate, Brisbane. | Plumb-bob, origin unknown, found in our garden in Brisbane. | Iron horse bit, Simpson’s Falls, Brisbane. | ‘Sunbeam’ broad tooth shearing comb, found on the bank of the Coolaburragundy River at Coolah, NSW, 2014. | Photo: Michelle Bowden, Visuall

Left to Right | Metal pulley. | Metal washer from canvas tent, possibly 1940s, found in Anzac Park, Toowong, Brisbane, 2014. | Bronze grommet. | Lead sinker from a collection belonging to my husband. Possibly found on Peel Island, Moreton Bay, ca. 1993. | Old copper washer. | Photo: Michelle Bowden, Visuall

Left to Right | Moonstone Bead with gold findings from my mothers’ jewellery box. Origin unknown, came into my possession 2009. | My hair, ca. 1988, with lorikeet feather from my Sydney garden, re-purposed from another art work. | ‘Thank you Robert Baines’- precision exercise, made during the 1st year of my undergraduate degree, 1983. Nickel silver cube intersected with a brass rod. | Tumbled Glass ring from a bottle, purchased in Camberwell Market in Melbourne, 1980s. | Prized red blood-reel marble from the 1920s inherited by my husband from his Mother’s marble bag collection. | Photo: Michelle Bowden, Visuall

Left to Right | Bronze ornament collected from the ground in Paris in Pere Lachaise Cimetière, ca 1990. | Floriate Bronze ornament collected from the ground in Paris in Pere Lachaise Cimetière, ca 1990. | Bullet, collected from Anzac Cove, Gallipoli. | Exploded bullet shell from a Match Rifle shot by my uncle at a target in Woomera in 1993. | Tin Hat Appeal RSL Fund raiser, from my husband’s grandmother. | Photo: Michelle Bowden, Visuall

Left to Right | Comrades of the Great War, numbered badge. Belonged to my husband’s grandfather. | Bullet Shell, 1940s. Anzac Park, Toowong. | Neillo butterfly cufflink. Found in my husband’s grandmother’s effects. | Burmese 25 Pyas coin, 1963. | Glass Bead from Ancient Thira (Santorini, Greece). Collected 1989. | Photo: Michelle Bowden, Visuall