MINUMENTAL

(ex) HS6 artists presented their group exhibition MINUMENTAL at Brunswick Street Gallery in Melbourne as part of Radiant Pavilion Contemporary Jewellery and Object Biennale 2024.

This was the second iteration of MINUMENTAL, building on the first that was shown at Nelson Jewellery Week (Aotearoa) 2023.

HANDSHAKE6 Artists: Michelle Wilkinson, Maca Bernal, Aphra Cheesman, Nikki Perry, Amelia Rothwell, Susan Videler, Jack Hadley, Nina van Duijnhoven, Simon Swale, Mia Straka, Antonia Boyle, Fran Leitch.

At the Radiant Pavilion in Melbourne on Friday, September 13, 2024, representatives from HANDSHAKE 6—Simon, Amelia, Nikki, Mia, Susan, Aphra, and Michelle (not visible)—attended the opening event. This was just one of many gallery openings that evening, showcasing a diverse range of technical and aesthetic expressions in contemporary jewellery.

The concept of MINUMENTAL explores the tension between monumentality and significance within the small details of everyday life. Our lives are made up of a series of moments, both conscious and unconscious, that occur over time and across different spaces. Everyday moments, routines, gestures, and repetitive actions, which may typically be considered insignificant, can reveal great meaning when highlighted. These subconscious actions take on new significance when viewed through a conscious lens.

The MINUMENTAL theme offered a platform for a diverse array of expressions, with each of the twelve artists drawing inspiration from their unique experiences and artistic practices. Since establishing themselves as an artists’ collective in 2020 after HANDSHAKE6, we have witnessed the growth and development of each artist’s work. This progress has been greatly enhanced by their involvement in the HANDSHAKE Project.

Michelle Wilkinson. Rewilding series. 2024.

Michelle Wilkinson draws upon her combined experiences working in science and art and seeks to tell stories of the world through natural history metaphors and allegories. Here Michelle encouraged an embrace of childhood wonder.

Maca Bernal. Fake v/s Real. 2024.

Maca Bernal chose a jewellery-related topic because the subject of fake jewellery, seemingly superficial and unimportant, keeps on coming up in her daily work.

Many makers showed an interest in the quotidian.

 Aphra Cheesman. Odds and Ends series. 2020-2024.

Aphra Cheesman’s focus is on the urban environment, on encounters between people and things, gleaning objects and materials that are worn or decayed; and signs of their past that reflect their interactions with people. Similar in approach, but distinct in materiality.

Nikki Perry. (l-r) SheT, Sheb, She, SheO. 2024.

Nikki Perry’s work in plastic also referenced, with added humour, our encounters with the fabric of our everyday existence.

Amelia Rothwell. Cushioning series. 2024.

Amelia Rothwell’s focus is more domestic, including materials such as clothes, napkins, upholstery fabric, and bed linen which she uses to create objects of comfort.

Susan Videler. Clearing the Table. 2024.

Susan Videler pays homage to the domestic act of table setting and its demise through the rise of television and takeaways. Here Sue repurposed sterling silverware, table linens, mother-of-pearl utensils, wax from the candles and the dried petals of flowers to evoke these disappearing traditions.

Jack Hadley. P555F_v1 (Orange). 2024.

Jack Hadley reversed appearances, showcasing the usually hidden workings of a circuit board on two brooches with oscillating LEDs.

Other makers demonstrated a deep reflection on time.

Nina van Duijnhoven. To Cut series. 2022-2024.

Nina van Duijnhoven, with her use of paper, encapsulates a duality of fragility and resilience. The intrinsic impermanence of paper mirrors the transient nature of life, power, knowledge, and beauty.

Fran Leitch. (l-r) Gifts of Unconditional Love I & II,  2024; Parallel Love Lost, 2023; Bound Together, 2024.

For Fran Leitch, slow-paced-making was a cathartic process reflecting deeply personal, physical and emotional attachment. These works are about changes in life circumstances and learning how to deal with that.

Representations of lived experience influenced the work by Simon and Mia.

Simon Swale. Maps series. 2024

Simon Swale continued his interest in maps as inadequate representations of space, creating a series of identical pins corresponding to cartographic representations of the ocean, while

Mia Straka. (l-r) Electronegativity 2024, Helicoid 2024, An Idyllic Summer Day – MF 2023, Quiet Revolution 2023, Poet’s Choker 2024.

Mia Straka built on previous work informed by radar charts documenting an ideal day in the life of a colleague. Here Mia’s works Helicoid, and the delicate geometry of Electronegativity, draw on the microforms of elemental structures that connect us all. Quiet Revolution subverts the form of a knuckleduster, and Poet’s Choker develops this political turn, quoting from a poem by Palestinian author Rawan Hussin.

Antonia Boyle. Fixation brooch, 2022; Interconnected brooch, 2023, Anthroplasty ring, 2022, Circulation necklace, 2023.

The situatedness of lived experience in the body is paramount in Antonia Boyle’s work – that most ordinary thing that we all exist in. For Antonia, the intricacies of the body are where beauty lies, and where the inspiration for her practice comes.

“That our  HS6 group continues to show together is also testament to the bonds formed over the time together in the HANDSHAKE project and the respect and support each of us has for one another’s work.

On this occasion a lot of thanks must be given to Aphra, who took care of our exhibition submission, and facilitated things from the Australian end; and to Amelia who went over early to help Aphra with the install, as well as to drive the collaboration for a special online range that people can buy (watch this space!).

Thanks to Brunswick Street Gallery for making us feel so welcome, for providing us with such a great space to exhibit our work, and for the organisation and support to enable it all to run so smoothly.

A very special thank you also to Peter Deckers and Hilda Gascard for their continued and unwavering support. HS6 members were extremely thankful for the very generous funding contribution from Makers101 which helped alleviate a lot of stress for us all. Thank you Peter and Hilda – we continue to be very thankful for all you have done over many years and hope we do you guys proud.”

Photo credits: Amelia Rothwell (except group image of artists photographer unknown).