Gaffa Gallery, Sydney
April 23rd – May 5th 2009

Contemporary Metal-work, jewellery & object, from Norway, Finland and Sweden
Maria Borjesson, Pamela Wilson, Anne Pfeffer Gjenedal, Matti Mattsson and
Harri Syrjanen

Scandinavian Reflections brings together five jewellery artists whose
practises are physically and aesthetically connected by water and ice.
Sights and sounds peculiar to the Scandinavian environment are sources of
inspiration for these talented craftsmen. The pieces in the exhibition are
reflections – both in the corporeal and cerebral senses. The surfaces of
the objects physically reflect light and refract colour, and they are also
meditations/ reflections on the natural world – evocative expressions of
transient phenomena. For these artists, “water and jewellery are the
source of energy, life and beauty”.

The objects in the exhibition vary in size, texture, and form, blurring
the traditional boundary between sculpture and jewellery. In many cases,
the pieces are intended to be both worn and displayed. Silver,
non-precious metals and recycled objects are just some of the materials
employed. Surface is always paramount in the selection of medium. Clean
lines and shimmering surfaces recall gleaming water or glistening ice,
imaginatively capturing the ephemeral and illusive qualities of sparkling
crystalline landscapes or deep bodies of water. Other works employ
intricate textile techniques, with rich, knitted surfaces where the hand
of the maker is a constant presence.
The works in Scandinavian Reflections exhibit a strong reverence for the
elemental; water, silver, creation. Even process is elemental. The artists
begin with reduction: pared back shapes, clean, bold lines, raw and
unusual materials are sensitively manipulated into elegant forms.
Elemental ideas are sculpted into tangible objects and the essences of
natural phenomena are captured and articulated in the weighty, permanency
offered by the craft of metal jewelry. These evocative creations remind us
that just as water is essential to life, so beauty is necessary for the
soul.

“We are five artists connected by ice and water and this is the theme of our exhibition. For us water and jewellery are the source of energy, life and beauty. The hand of the maker is prominant in all our work. Silver, non precious metals as well as recycled materials are used. The objects to wear vary in size, texture, colour and form.”

Anne Pfeffer Gjengedal

Born and educated in Norway.

“My experience in life is my knowledge. This is the background for my ideas and expressions in my work. I search for a potential feeling as for instance pleasure, enjoyment ore reflection. My works are made for decorating a body and/or a room. That means that I often make a combination where my works are a decoration for the body, but the work can be changed into a decoration for a room as a sculpture, a picture on the wall, or an installation. When I move the work from one context to another, the observer gets different experience. The expression I surge for is the background for my choice of materials. However, the metal I use is mainly silver, sometimes combined with anodized aluminium, steel or galvanic copper”.

Pamela Wilson

Born and educated in Australia. Lived and worked for the last 20 years in Sweden.

“I work in a variety of materials including silver, aluminium, iron, copper and plastics. The pieces made into jewellery are constructed using textile techniques such as weaving, knitting and stiching. The rhythmical forms of colour and line explore and connect through structure. I play with the simple forms shaped to move freely on the body. These techniques and materials allow me to work spontaniously with large forms which can give a dramatic effect to my work”.

Mia Börjesson

Born and educated in Sweden.

“I enjoy working with colour so the use of aluminium has become common in a lot of my unique pieces. I work in a wide variety of styles from small simple jewellery to large extreme pieces. A lot of my work has a message and they are pieces of art. Inspiration can come from various places, the personality of a client, from listening to music or a topic on the news. I have always spent my life close to water. Summer holidays was spent in the archipelago on the west coast of Sweden and now I live in a harbour town on the Baltic Sea and my favourite sport – curling – is played on ice”.

Harri Syrjänen

Born and educated in Helsinki, Finland. Has his own studio since 1971.

“I comes from a long line of artistic craftsmen including blacksmiths, foundary workers and boat builders. All with the wisdom and skills in their hands to bring materials to life. I create jewellery from a variety of materials ranging from rusty nails to platinum, beach pebbles to diamonds”.

Matti Mattsson.

Born and educated in Finland.

“I have always lived on islands or places where land, water and wind meet. Always present in my work is light which gives colour and wind that fills the senses. For me modern jewellery is part of contempory art. I like most to work with steel, silver, wood and found objects. My aim is to translate my thoughts and ideas into the material I use. Therefore I always search for the right material for each individual piece”.

Gaffa Gallery
1/7 Randle Street
Surry Hills NSW
02 9281 1103
Mon-Fri 12-6
Sat 11-6

www.gaffa.com.au