Meanings and Messages is the title of the current touring exhibition of the Association for Contemporary Jewellery (ACJ) that opened on 30th April 2022 at the St George’s Art Centre in Gravesend.

In my February blog I wrote about a brooch I made as my entry for this exhibition. I was thrilled that my piece Elpis (Hope) Brooch was selected as one of the 60 participants for this show and decided to travel to the opening day with my family.

Prior to the exhibitions, all entries were beautifully photographed by Simon B Armitt for the printed catalogue that was produced and the show was curated and displayed by the ACJ team, notably Exhibition Manager Joanne Haywood and ACJ Director, Terry Hunt.

Each entry came with a statement that explained the thoughts behind the piece. This statement was not shown next to the cabinets so as to encourage your own thoughts when viewing the pieces, but they were printed in the catalogue.

As the pandemic prevented many such physical shows from being organised it was a real pleasure to take part in the opening day and meet and catch up with old friends.

I wanted to use my May Blog to write about some of my own favourites of this exhibition:

All selected pieces were sorted into broad categories to make the display easier and these were:

1. Social Justice and Societal Change – A fairer world for all, technology, consumerism and conflict

2. Supernature – Celebrating the wonder of the natural world

3. Tributes and personal narratives – For our heroes and loved ones, personal reflection and biographical pieces

4. Our beautiful planet – Climate change, conservation, sustainability, ecology and animal rights.

5. Coronavirus (Covid-19) – Personal reflections and global impacts.

6. Love, hope and faith – Humanity, lore, talismans and amulets.

I was very moved by the different approaches of the makers to the theme of the exhibition and the thoughts behind the pieces when reading the catalogue. I will choose one piece from each section:

1. Social Justice and Societal Change – Z(eros) No Ones by Emma McGilchrist. I had the pleasure of meeting Emma at the opening and we chatted about our respective pieces in the exhibition and our thoughts behind it. I love the different layers of meaning behind this brooch, especially the one challenging Freud’s interpretation of women as Zero “a gap, absence of maleness and therefore lesser being.”

2. Supernature – City Garden Brooch by Sophie Martin-Glinel. Sophie’s brooch is a beautiful interpretation of her urban surroundings. She notices the beauty present even in her built-up, often industrial surroundings where one would not often suspect nature to be. Sophie notices that, and her brooch signifies how nature finds ways to fight its way through the most challenging elements of urbans landscapes.

3. Tributes and personal narratives – This section of the exhibition was particularly touching and it was hard to pick just one entry. So I picked two – both moving tributes to lost loved-ones.

a. Jane Sedgwick’s brooch Forget-Me-(K)not pays tribute to the skills passed on from mother to daughter and she uses threads from of her late mother’s sewing box to make her piece. Incorporating the threads her mother touched and worked with is a particularly moving memento – significant perhaps especially to a fellow maker, for whom materials and touch are important elements to how we live, view and interpret the world.

b. Anne Walker’s brooch Fragility of Life: Dear Tam – This brooch is a beautiful tribute to the recently deceased Tamizan Savill, long-time member and Chief Executive of the Association for Contemporary Jewellery. The brooch is Anne’s final farewell letter to Tamizan. It is composed of long pieces of printed paper strips “with a jumble of messages and mixed emotions” which are loosely laced together and – like paper – signify the fragility of life.

4. Our beautiful planet – Before it’s too Late Brooch by Sarah Jane Wilmott: Sarah’s brooch is a call to action to remind ourselves that so much more still needs to be achieved to tackle climate change. The brooch is made from charcoal and fine silver, with the charcoal leaving a mark on the wearer – just like human action has had on the planet. A beautifully evocative piece that should all make us think and renew our commitment to preserve and protect our planet.

5. Coronavirus (Covid-19) – Lonely Fish brooch by Mandy Nash: Mandy’s brooch resonated strongly with me. The impact of the pandemic on children and young people was particularly strong and are still felt. The absence of social contact with friends, the known rhythm of life and school and a certain predictability were hard to cope with. Although speaking to the children about these things, adults struggled with them too. Anxieties remained and – as depicted in the brooch – children and adults still appear on the outside as ‘jolly fish’ but are in fact “struggling to keep the head above water” and feel like they are “swimming against the tide.”

6. Love, hope and faith – All You Need Is Love brooch by Joanne Haywood. My own brooch also came in this category, but one brooch I particularly liked was Jo’s. The warmth and compassion of her thoughts really stirred me. To respond with kindness, compassion and understanding to other people in need and especially in such turbulent times as the last few years, not only helps others, but also lifts our own spirits and adds meaning to our own lives. The use of her materials, colour and symbolisms underlines the above.

As part of the main exhibition, exhibitors were also asked to send in samples or test pieces they had made for their brooches. This was to enable especially visually impaired persons to experience the exhibition. This was a particularly lovely part of the exhibition. As the actual brooches were shown in glass cabinets it was fantastic to be able to touch and feel the materials and textures used in the pieces.

If you are able to go I would encourage you to see the exhibition and/or buy the catalogue to read the thoughts behind each piece. The following are the tour dates and locations:

• 30th April 2022 – 29th May 2022: St Georges Arts Centre - Gravesham Borough Council - in partnership with LV21

• 1st -3rd July 2022: Exeter University – Conference Pop-Up exhibition

• 19th September - 28th October 2022: Vittoria Street Gallery – Birmingham School of Jewellery

• 16th November – 21st Dec 2022: Mission Gallery in partnership with Swansea College of Art UWTSD

• 9th January – 24th February 2023: Goldsmiths Centre, London

• 4th April – 18th June 2023: New Brewery Arts, Cirencester

Blog 5: Meanings and Messages