Weird, wonderful jewellery on display

Lisa Walker Pendant 2016. Plastic, thread. Courtesy of the artist and The National, Christchurch

Weird, wonderful jewellery on display at Christchurch Art Gallery

Kitchen utensils, children’s toys and taxidermy — put them together and what do you get? Just a glimpse of the extraordinary works that will feature in Christchurch Art Gallery’s latest exhibition, 0 + 0 = 0, by influential, award-winning New Zealand artist Lisa Walker.

On show from Friday 16 December 2016, 0 + 0 = 0 features an eye-popping cornucopia of Walker’s works, all powered by her desire to avoidwhat she describes as jewellery’s “usual recipes”. The exhibition also features an animated short film inspired by Walker’s work by Jens Schwarz.

“Walker relentlessly reshapes our expectations,” says exhibition curator Felicity Milburn.

“If plastic can be jewellery, she asks why 'boggly' stick-on eyes, Halloween fingers or Lego figurines can’t be too?

“And if traditional jewellery can turn gemstones, precious metals or pounamu (greenstone) into adornments, her works explore how modern jewellery can include the 'treasures' of today’s culture, like trashy magazines, amateur artworks or even a laptop,” adds Milburn.

From a series of delicate brooches constructed from the glued-together rubbish and sweepings from Walker’s workshop floor, to necklaces made from vintage metal hand-beaters, plastic fruit and (almost literally) everything in-between, 0 + 0 = 0 is a no-holds-barred visual extravaganza that challenges viewers to re-engage with the material world and expand their expectations.

“Walker’s works are funny, strange, confrontational and in-your-face,” says Milburn. “Regarding everything as ‘food for art’, she has a knack for revealing the contradictions of everyday life in a way that’s original, imaginative and visually exhilarating.”

Lisa Walker will give a free talk on her practice 6pm Wednesday 15 February.

A new publication about Lisa Walker’s jewellery, published by Dent-de-Leone in London, will be launched with the exhibition and available in the Gallery design store.

Lisa Walker: 0 + 0 = 0 is on display at Christchurch Art Gallery from 16 December 2016 to 2 April 2017. Entry is free.

ENDS

About Lisa Walker

Lisa Walker is a New Zealand-born artist working in the field on contemporary jewellery. A New Zealand Arts Foundation Laureate Award winner, she exhibits regularly in New Zealand and is involved in projects with museums, galleries, and other venues internationally. After many years spent living in Munich, Germany, Walker is currently based in Wellington, New Zealand.

SELECTED AWARDS

2007 Förderpreis der Stadt München (City of Munich scholarship)
2008 Darling Publications Award – Best Jeweller of the Year
2010 Francoise van den Bosch Award, Amsterdam, Holland

2015 New Zealand Arts Foundation Laureate Award
2016 Diagonal Jewellery "Nobel" Prize, Sweden

Walker’s works are held in public collections in New Zealand, Australia, England, Germany, Holland and France,

© Scoop Media