CONTEMPORARY NEW ZEALAND JEWELLERY

Areta Wilkinson

From 2009

"Pepeha are Maori customary forms of expression that embody cultural perspectives by locating individuals within the landscape and within whakapapa, the genealogical context of eponymous ancestors. Pepeha speak about specific iwi (tribe), hapu (subtribe) and whanau (family) histories, thus they are statements of culture and collective identity from a Maori world view. Whilst far ranging in form these short succinct phrases reveal simple wisdoms offering insights into the lives of our ancestors, treasured, carried and retold by us. A focus was born of contemporary jewellery objects functioning like pepeha, that is an unlocking device to a deeper narrative and identity marker. An audio CD accompanies each work like an oral history with related spoken accounts (family, friends and colleagues) including my own"

Blackbeech and Honeydew Brooch, 2009
18ct gold
Collection of The Dowse Art Museum

Ring, 2008, $3,500
E ai ki to te tohu o te marena "e kore e mutu te taura herenga tangata'
(With this ring I thee wed in the belief that a persons bond can never be severed)
22ct yellow gold
Korero, 2008
Audio CD

Memory Aid Toggles, 2009

Memory Aid VII   silver, enamel stg silver, W56mm x H20mm x D10mm   $450
Memory Aid VIII   silver, enamel stg silver, W75mm x H16mm x D9mm   $450
Memory Aid IX   silver, enamel stg silver, W73mm x H16mm X D9mm   $450
Memory Aid X   silver, enamel stg silver, W57mm x H15mm x D9mm   $450

From 2007

From 'Takapau Will Travel'
Kia Mua Ki Muri', 2005 $3500
Monel 400, 9ct gold, brass, paint, wood, glass
image Studio La Gonda

From 2006

1 - 4, Tini Eyes brooch (small), $400, found cake tin, stg silver, 9ct gold
5 - 7, Tini Eyes brooch (large), $600, found cake tin, stg silver, 9ct gold

from "journey-work" 2006

PRINCESS TRAVEL BLANKET BROOCHES

Found labels, stg silver, 9ct gold pin, polyester thread

1) Robinu'ul Spread
2) Mosgiel "A'AE'OO"
3) Mosgiel Pure Wool
4) Kaiapoi Woollen MFG. Company
5) Kaiapoi Clan
6) Princess Blanket
7) Kaiapoi All Pure Wool I
8) Kaiapoi All Pure Wool II
9) Kaiapoi Pure Wool
10) Kaiapoi Pure Virgin Wool

from "Legere to gather" 2005

"Fabricated silver plants build on earlier investigations of colonisation and identity. Legere is Latin the language of taxonomy, Legere To Gather is a gathering of stimuli and the exhibition a celebration of process.
New works were developed from a range of visual and research sources relating to the botanical collecting on Cooks first 1769 voyage to New Zealand. They included original Banks and Solander plant specimens housed in Auckland Museum and Lincoln herbariums, Sydney Parkinson etchings, botanical photographs painting and drawings, my own pressed plant specimens and material experiments."
Areta Wilkinson, 2005

Pohutukawa, Metrosideros excelsa, Christmas Tree
Brooches, 2004