Culture

Located just down from the Octagon, Lure Gallery features the work of approximately twenty-five jewellers from around New Zealand. The space itself is a tranquil escape from the busy streets below, creating a strong sense of intimacy and warmth as golden light filters through its windows. Lure is a studio space for six local jewellers and operates as a gallery to both exhibit and sell work.

Immediately I was drawn to the jewellery of Lynn Kelly, which highlights both a connection to and a concern for the environment. Kelly’s work is inspired by New Zealand plants and historical botanical drawings, and uses materials which feature both New Zealand landscapes and native flora and fauna.
 
Pohutukawa Brooch uses both manmade and natural materials to recreate the pohutukawa’s crimson bloom to great effect. It consists of a metal branch-like base, from which soft brilliantly-coloured bristles emerge. Pendant Hydrangea features maps of various South Island glacial areas which have been printed onto soft metal and then carved and moulded into the shape of a hydrangea. The metal Kelly has used is deceptively light and yet durable. Pendent Hydrangea is cold to touch and appears almost like an ominously jagged glacier. Another piece features dried rosehip berries which Kelly has threaded on a beautifully coloured and soft golden thread. There is a strong juxtaposition of texture and vividly rendered colours.
 
Ang Jewiss’s 1950s deco-inspired rings look as though they were made to be a physical part of the body, such as the marrow inside finger bones. The rings are composed of bulbous candy-coloured resin tops with metal bases, with a piece of metal running through the see-through resin, as though it were to be connected to the wearer’s bone.
 
Ann Culy’s work, and in particular the rings, provide an interesting dialogue between texture and opposing materiality. Coarse, imperfect and delicate; each has a different shape and bears distinctive markings, making the wearer aware that the rings are handmade rather than mass-produced.
 
Victoria McIntosh explores the history associated with pieces of jewellery by reworking overlooked objects she has discovered into beautiful, challenging and yet wearable objects. Patty Tin Brooch creates a sense of protection, due to both the domestic, maternal shape of the object and the use of found textile.