Participants (see their HS progress)
- Antonia Boyle
- Aphra Cheesman
- Nina van Duijnhoven
- Jack Hadley
- Fran Leitch
- Nikki Perry
- Amelia Rothwell
- Mia Straka
- Simon Swale
- Susan Videler
- Michelle Wilkinson
- Macarena Bernal
HS6 collaboration video work
WELCOME TO HANDSHAKE 6 (HS6), 2020 – 2021/22
The HS6 two-year programme offered emerging jewellery artists a unique opportunity to develop skills through masterclasses, mentoring, and work development involving experimentation and exhibiting. Iris Eichenberg (US) selected twelve talented artists and paired them with recommended mentors who provided regular feedback and support throughout the two-year program. In 2019, Iris Eichenberg came to Auckland and conducted a masterclass with HS6 artists, igniting various conceptual and design approaches and opportunities. Her public lecture at Objectspace in Auckland drew a full house of enthusiasts.
Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, each HS6 artist was able to continue their research, experimentation, and development online with the assistance of their assigned mentors. The first exhibition opportunity was pre-Covid and curated by Weasel Gallery in Hamilton (now rebranded as Laree Payne Gallery). During Covid, the HS6 artists showcased their work at various exhibitions, including “Signing-In” at Te Auaha, Wellington, and a large, curated exhibition called “CHAINreaction” at the Refinery as part of the first Nelson Jewellery Week.
Throughout the programme, the artists benefited from a series of lectures and workshops on professional ethics, fundraising, communication, and design. They also received valuable training on presenting and promoting their work online through the ON-E masterclass workshop led by Estella Saez (ES).
Despite the obstacles presented by COVID-19, the HS6 artists remained resilient, supporting each other and working together as a team. Their successful funding campaign and the production of a video and catalogue for the final exhibition MORPH at NorthArt in Auckland showcased their extraordinary qualities and demonstrated the power of effective teamwork. Overall, the HS6 program provided a valuable opportunity for emerging artists to develop their skill set and showcase their refined work to a wider audience.
Iris Eichenberg’s masterclass in 2020
HS6 focused primarily on the individual development of each mentee’s art practice, with feedback and assistance from their selected mentor. Their exploration package included research, experimentation, various design processes, and material explorations. The year kicked off with a JEWELcamp, covering expectations, obligations, and professional ethics.
Renowned artist and educator Renee Bevan conducted her influential PUSH-PULL workshop, providing a series of methods for exploring and expanding ideas and designs.
Following the JEWELcamp, a masterclass from Iris Eichenberg equipped HS6 artists with various toolsets of new approaches and opportunities.
HS6 artists at their MORPH opening, Northart, Auckland, August 2022
- (top row:) Maca Bernal, Simon Swale, Susan Videler, Antonia Boyle, Nikki Perry, Jack Hadley, Michelle Wilkinson
- (bottom row:) Fran Leitch, Mia Straka, Nina van Duijnhoven, Aphra Cheesman, Amelia Rothwell
HS6 NEWS & BLOGs:
Shackle tackle
Catching up again. Now I’m in February. And preparing for CHAINreaction exhibition. The Handshakers had a casual get together over Zoom and shared what we were working on. I was stunned it was February already and was feeling the pressure building over the imminent...
Reflections on Signing In: 2020
Dear Blog, Firstly, apologies I have been slack on posting since our Handshake6 exhibition in October/November last year. My life has settled with a new home since then and this is my commitment that I will be better! Before moving forward I want to share my...
2020 Postmortem
Attai and I talked about the Te Auaha show. We talked about Covid. And family. And artists. We talked about holding on to work. Prioritising making money over work and finding a way to make it work. Oh the forever elusive balance. We talked about the upcoming chain....
Ode to Te Auaha
Looking back. Catching up. Just a few months behind. October 2020, my partner and I drove down to Wellington, with jewellery, rolls of paper and other paraphernalia for our Handshake 6 ‘process’ show. It was magic to be on the open road, going somewhere. We stopped...
How will an object sit on the body? How will a body sit on the object?
I’ve always loved chairs. Especially chairs like these... For a while now, I’ve been photographing chairs that I find on the street (if only I had the space to collect the objects themselves!). Used, worn and broken, these are objects that have lived their lives in...
“Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold”
CHAINreaction has been a really nice chance to focus on connections, community and solidarity, and to applaud the legacy of the Handshake project and all Peter and Hilda have given over the last ten years- I am so disappointed not to be there to share in the...
Old ideas in a new light?
I started writing this blog on the flight back to Auckland from Wellington last year after the Te Auaha show…the blog was full of could have, should have, would have’s bla bla! The show was about process and our HS6 journey’s, much like stopping off...
My summer of monarchs and metaphors
I became a little obsessed with monarch caterpillars this summer. In the absence of making, during a very busy and stressful time at work and with my family, my only outlet was focusing on these little creatures. I couldn’t make, there was no space in my head to do...
Object Runway
The title 'Object Runway' alludes to the reality television series 'Project Runway', where fashion designers compete against each other in challenges. Circulating the space on a motorised pulley system are aluminium mobiles. Loosely anthropomorphic, these...
A Year
My first year of HANDSHAKE 6... How to: Get from my head to my hands; from thinking to object Bring awareness to my process Evoke not describe Pare back Say more with less Writing has become a valuable tool in my making process. Stream of...
‘Signing In’, Te Auaha, Wellington, Nov 2020.
a pocket a stone presence absence remains ‘Stones. On the ground and of the ground. Grounded; grounding. Hand objects.’ Materials: Stone, EPNS, soap, wood,...
The Preservation of Memory ( CHAINreaction)
The Preservation of Memory I have shifted my focus from knots to memory as this was an underlying theme of my work last year and has taken centre stage in 2021. In considering memory as a colour, I realised that for me it centred chiefly around cream; babies’ teeth,...
Te Auaha Exhibition
I am at long last contemplating the Te Auaha exhibition held in Wellington last September. It was four months ago, the end of 2020 punctuated with Christmas and the luxury of travel and family available to us. We are truly blessed in this regard. This time last...
Contextualizing my work through history
I felt it necessary to look into the history of bone use in New Zealand Jewellery, where it originates from and where it sits today. Traditional bone carving has a long history in New Zealand and the wider South Pacific - initially it was a means to create useful...
Breakable Rules
Until 2020 I had never done a masterclass but in January and February I was lucky to participate in both the HS6 masterclass with Iris Eichenberg and a few weeks following a masterclass with David Bielander at RMIT in Melbourne. Iris Eichenberg discussed studio...