JACQUELINE CULLEN: JEWELLERY DESIGNERWhitby jet is 180 million years old fossilised black wood that has formed into a young coal and is almost solely associated with intricately carved Victorian mourning jewellery. My fascination with how Whitby jet has been appropriated as a potent symbol of grief and mortality developed out of my interest in challenging materials that might be said to have a language of their own due to their cultural associations. I studied these preconceived notions of how Whitby jet should be perceived and have tried to subvert these ideas physically, technically and traditionally. Hiatuses inform the aesthetic driving my work. I am fascinated with the tension and distress created by violent points of impact and the interruption, or breaking up of a fluid form is central to my work in Whitby jet. Although each piece is extremely wearable appearances are deceptive and ambiguous and I aim to blur the boundaries between jewellery, art and sculpture.
I am the only designer who is working in Whitby jet in a non-traditional way and I am committed to producing innovative and exciting jewellery objects whilst introducing this extremely seductive material to a contemporary audience. |
For sales, commissions and to send comments to the artist.
|
|||||
|