Chandeliers map the 1,260 Wellington women who fought to vote

Justine Fletcher’s jewellery installation 1260 – Sign for Change at Toi Pōneke Gallery (25 September – 18 October) will pay tribute to 23,991 signatories of the landmark Third Suffrage Petition of 1893.

Chandeliers hanging from the gallery ceiling will map Wellington’s suburbs, representing 1,260 of the city’s women who fought for the right to vote.

Justine has been making jewellery for 20 years. After teaching herself, she went on to study at Milan’s respected Scuola Orafa Ambrosiana in the 1990s. Returning to New Zealand in 1997 she was struck by the dramatic erosion of the social welfare system. It rekindled Justine’s interest in the New Zealand suffragists striving for equality within New Zealand society.

Justine admits raising three children while running her art practice can be a struggle. The fact two of her children have disabilities means the values of a fairer society will always be at the heart of her work.

1260 – Sign for Change finds its sentiment in the past, but is equally an exploration of contemporary gender roles and current accepted conventions.

“Justine’s work is interesting for the way in which she represents not only historically significant events, but also the collective potential of people.” Jodie Dalgleish, City Arts Advisor says. “Here the signing of an important historic document is aesthetically translated in her casting of domestic objects and mode of collection, taking her jewellery practice into the broader realm of installation art.”

This new work follows on from 607, the result of her New Zealand Pacific Studio residency.

“The NZPS Fellowship was an invaluable opportunity to spend three solid weeks making and installing the pendants across the Wairarapa region,” she says. “It has definitely inspired me to aim to produce a series of exhibitions in each region. It’s hard to comprehend the hard work it must have taken to achieve this law change.”

Justine’s installation is an exploration of textile and texture, evoking stained glass windows and chandeliers. Old-fashioned patterns combine with modern forms and materials through casting, crochet and stitching techniques.

The work will be for sale, as whole chandeliers, or a selection that can be converted into individual pieces of jewellery.

The opening of 1260 – Sign for Change is at 5.30pm, Thursday 25 September at Toi Pōneke Gallery, 61 Abel Smith Street. It runs until 18 October.

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