PETAL POWER
by Josephine Briginshaw
Contemporary jewellery calls to attention the character of the maker and the wearer, and can, therefore, be used to express political and social views and in turn shape conversation as part of the exchange. As jewellery historian Toni Greenbaum notes on the subject, ‘wearable works of art proclaim allegiance to a movement; they are 'badges,' so to speak, to be worn by those advocates of an aesthetic’1. Symbolic jewellery and other wearable objects have given a visual identity to many revolutionary movements, strengthened social and political unity, and given a voice to marginalised and silenced groups. In Island Welcome the tradition of the lei is used as the symbolic proposition for departures critiquing how Australia “welcomes” refugees. The making and giving of leis shared by diverse Pacific cultures ‘is an inclusive and connected ritual and a joyful practice; on receiving it (a lei) you become acknowledged’2. The eight garlands exhibited are highly concentrated manifestations of each jeweller's protest against current Australian immigration and refugee policy.
by Josephine Briginshaw
Contemporary jewellery calls to attention the character of the maker and the wearer, and can, therefore, be used to express political and social views and in turn shape conversation as part of the exchange. As jewellery historian Toni Greenbaum notes on the subject, ‘wearable works of art proclaim allegiance to a movement; they are 'badges,' so to speak, to be worn by those advocates of an aesthetic’1. Symbolic jewellery and other wearable objects have given a visual identity to many revolutionary movements, strengthened social and political unity, and given a voice to marginalised and silenced groups. In Island Welcome the tradition of the lei is used as the symbolic proposition for departures critiquing how Australia “welcomes” refugees. The making and giving of leis shared by diverse Pacific cultures ‘is an inclusive and connected ritual and a joyful practice; on receiving it (a lei) you become acknowledged’2. The eight garlands exhibited are highly concentrated manifestations of each jeweller's protest against current Australian immigration and refugee policy.
Josephine Briginshaw (right) interviewing Belinda Newick (left). Photo by Fred Kroh
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Central to the tradition of the lei is the respect for and use of natural materials, such as flowers, shells, feathers, and plant fibre3. An appreciation of nature is intrinsic to the practices of Jess Dare, Nicki Hepburn and Vicki Mason. For them, the blooms and botanical forms and motifs used as an adornment for many centuries, offer an endless reference point for reinterpretation and investigation. Dare, Hepburn and Mason's welcome leis demonstrate the respectful ways that people respond to each other via jewellery, as well as explore the paradoxical terms through which refugees come to be "welcomed" to Australia.
In 2014 Dare attended an Asialink residency in Bangkok, Thailand, to research the traditional ephemeral craft of Phuang Malai (Flower Garlands). In contrast to the Phaung Malai’s fragility, Dare gives a permanent form to a ceremonial adornment of Australian flora rendered in heavy powder coated brass ‘symbolising permanency, stability and solidarity’4. Mason’s Garland for Azizeh is a tribute to a young Iranian refugee she met in 2016. While in detention on Christmas for two years Azizeh spoke about ‘the chance she had one day to climb a frangipani tree that she had fallen in love with that was growing outside the detention centre’5. Mason’s garland of silk and cotton frangipani motifs shifts from warm welcoming tones to the cold grey of and concrete and chain-link. Hepburn's delicate Seaweed Lei, of driftwood rendered by its time at sea, represents the perilous journey by boat that many refugees have no choice but to undertake. Jane Bowen’s and Kath Inglis’ garlands are made from materials informed by the origin and meaning of the lei in Polynesia – leftovers. Bowen’s Leftovers, made from surplus chains found in her studio, can be divided and shared with others as a gesture of welcome. Inglis' A lei from the welcome mat, repurposes the anti-establishment symbol of the rubber thong. In Australia, the anti-establish rubber thong has reached iconic status representing the carefree way of life of an unpretentious and egalitarian society6. Made from variously faceted beads Inglis has hand cut from a worn pair of black thongs, it evokes a lei of volcanic rock pebbles. |
Nicky Hepburn, Seaweed Lei, 2017, seaweed. Photo by Sarah Lay
Vicki Mason, Garland for Azizeh, 2017, materials. Photo by Andrew Barcham
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Jess Dare, Untitled, 2017, powder coated brass. Photo by Andrew Barcham
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Michelle Cangiano engaged the time-consuming process of embossing and threading hundreds of paper discs to create an abstract welcome lei – resembling its historical counterpart in form, colour and technique.
Lauren Simeoni deconstructs the flag trope to express discomfort with both colonial settlement, and recent refugee policy. Through the repetitive, meditative process of unpicking and beading an Australian flag, reflection becomes inevitable; the result is Girt, a frayed and tattered garment, which represents the uncertainty of the process of coming to Australia as a refugee. 
Kath Inglis, A Lei from the welcome mat, 2017, hand cut used thongs, silk thread, sterling silver, patina. Photo: Kath Inglis.
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Island Welcome’s curator Belinda Newick also engaged a process that encouraged deep contemplation to create her garland. As Newick folded fifty-six stainless steel mesh origami butterflies, she used this time to listen to podcasts, news and radio concerning the actions of the Australian Government concerning the refugees stationed at Manus Island. Newick provides a recollection of the time ‘Listening to many refugee voices repeated this language of caging in and restriction, of transitory space and always mention of metal wire’7. Though the butterflies pin 10 metres of wire into spirals evocative of barbed wire, however, Newick’s garland Hope is its antithesis; providing its wearer with protective armour.
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‘There are currently 65.6 million forcibly displaced people worldwide’8. Given the magnitude and complexity of the refugee crisis, it is not an isolated design issue, and jewellery is not the whole answer to combating the problem; however, it is a provocative vessel to express criticism. The eight garlands exhibited derive their strength from their ability to open up dialogues between the maker, wearer, and viewer disertating place and displacement, the environment, cultural hybridity, freedom and identity within the context of the global refugee crisis.
1 Adamson, G. (2013). Thinking through Craft. (p. 21). London: Bloomsbury. 2 Allison, F. (n.d.). The lei, the garland and the daisy chain. (n.p.) Retrieved from https://garlandmag.com/article/the-lei-the-garland-and-the-daisy-chain/ 3 LeAmon, S. (n.d.). Lei in contemporary Pacific cultural practice. (n.p.) Retrieved from https://garlandmag.com/threads/lei-in-contemporary-pacific-cultural-practice-by-simone-leamon/ 4 Dare, J. (n.d.). Island Welcome. (n.p.) Retrieved from https://garlandmag.com/article/island-welcome/ 5 Mason, V. (n.d.). Island Welcome. (n.p.) Retrieved from https://garlandmag.com/article/island-welcome/ 6 Ward, L. (2012). Rubber Thong. (n.p.) Retrieved from https://maas.museum/inside-the- collection/2012/01/20/rubber-thong/ 7 Newick, B. (n.d.). Island Welcome. (n.p.) Retrieved from https://garlandmag.com/article/island-welcome/ 8 The UN Refugee Agency. Retrieved from http://www.unhcr.org/en-au/figures-at-a-glance.html |
Michelle Cangiano, Welcome, 2017, paper, nylon thread. Photo by Sarah Lay
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Belinda Newick, Hope, 2017, stainless steel, sterling silver. Photo by Fred Kroh
Jane Bowden, Leftovers, 2017, sterling silver, oxidised. Photo by Jane Bowden
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An expanded iteration of Island Welcome was exhibited at Craft from 2-30 June 2018. Artists included were Alice Whish, Anna Davern, Belinda Newick, Jane Bowden, Jess Dare, Kath Inglis, Lauren Simeoni, Liv Boyle, Manon van Kouswijk, Melinda Young, Michelle Cangiano, Maree Clarke, Nicky Hepburn, Sim Luttin & Vicki Mason. Curated by Belinda Newick.
This exhibition will also be shown at the Australian Design Centre in Sydney in April 2019. 
Lauren Simeoni, Girt, 2017, Australian Flag, thread. Photo by Fred Kroh
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