Metal 13 | Exhibition of graduate works

This juried exhibition is by graduates from Australia and New Zealand Tertiary Institutions and held in conjunction with the 15th Jewellers and Metalsmiths Group of Australia (JMGA) Biennial National Conference, Participation + Exchange in QLD.

Read about the conference here.

Excerpt from the exhibition catalogue.
by Katelyn-Jane Dunn Queensland College of Art, Griffith University Art Theory elective – Curatorship, 2013

SARAH HUDSON – VESSELS (2010) Monash University

Reflecting upon the slowed, meditative process of ceramics, Sarah Hudson employs subtle colours, repetition and low relief design to communicate ideas of peace and quietude. Since being attracted to working with porcelain at Monash University, Hudson has received the Japanese Itami Prize from the Museum of Arts & Crafs for her bamboo themed Sake Set (2010), and exhibited in the Clunes Ceramic Award (2010, 2011). The Australian Council for the Arts has also awarded her distinctive style with the ArtStart Award (2012).

For Vessels (2010), the calm, delicate nature of porcelain is translated as a series of slip cast, hand beaded necklaces. Responsively experimenting with each piece, Hudson uses the vessel motif to explore design, texture and hand coloured pigment. Viewers are invited to carefully examine each piece, and become lost in both the craftsmanship and physicality of these intricate, inimitable objects. Threaded with handmade ceramic and Japanese seed beads, Vessels also initiates a dialogue between the pendants and the necklaces that hang them, with a play on the duality of function and adornment present. Through the use of marbled effects and weathered surface, the collection is also evocative of uncovered artifacts. This impression of age leaves Hudson’s audience to contemplate imagined histories and be immersed in each necklace’s sense of memory.

A fragile representation of time and stillness, Vessels is a continued study of ceramics practice. Incorporating the finesse and slowed nature of porcelain, Hudson considers the function of jewellery and decorative objects within her designs. The result, imbued with soft introspective qualities, is an exploration of the act of making and notions of memory, calm and quietude.