A recent whirlwind tour of museums, palaces and treasure houses in Europe was both exciting and nauseating in equal measures.
The extravagance of the natural materials used and the incalculable hours of human graft manifest in the displayed objects shocked me. The magnificent and sumptuous housing of these elite collections was similarly staggering. However, I couldn't help but be guiltily grateful that the world was nutty and cruel enough for such excesses to have happened. My pleasure was my shame - or the other way around.
Rococo Revolution is my reaction to this experience. It illustrates my discomfort with the way we 'hoover up' wildlife and environment for our own frivolous ends. With these pendants I want to honour the simple, elegant forms of the animal world. The subject of the brooches is the battle between nature and culture. The collection of works pays homage to the crazy and rich craft traditions of the Rococo Age.
--
Jane Dodd has been making jewellery for 20 years. Formerly a partner at Workshop 6 in Kingsland, she now lives in Dunedin.