Featured Artist: Laura di Florio

The View 6 (Melbourne)

Window Exhibition:
Tues 23rd June - Sat 18th July, 2009
Laura di Florio, The View (Melbourne)

In this anticipated new body of work, The View (Melbourne), Laura di Florio continues to explore notions of time, space, place and memory through layered photographic acrylic panels. Her subject is part of a broader project involving the documentation of four major cityscapes around the world. Here, the city exposed is the artists’ hometown, Melbourne. The primary question asked by di Florio is, “what makes a city- its influences, its energy and how does the memory of a city continue to exist after you leave?”

Employing photography, mirror, Perspex and printmaking techniques di Florio layers and hides her images to create intimate and atmospheric spaces. The individual images may include urban streets, parklands, freeways, waterways, and sky. Combined, through di Florio’s technique, they are transformed- illustrating the “interior space of memory, emotion and the experience of that particular place.” When viewed as a group, these constructed panels of various sizes come to reflect a new and imagined skyline of Melbourne.

Acrylic panels in di Florio's studio

About the artist

Laura di Florio completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts, with First Class Honours in Printmaking, RMIT, 2006. Prior to this she completed a Diploma of Arts, RMIT, 2001. She has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions including; Red Gallery, (solo), 2003 and 2002; Pieces of Eight Gallery, Nowhere near the raincloud, (solo), 2007; CCP, Kodak Salon, 2009; Pieces of Eight Gallery, Through the Window: Alida Cappelletta and Laura di Florio, 2008; Sunday and Rex, London, 2008; Jenny Port Gallery, Inaugural Exhibition and Printmaking, 2007; McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park, Mary and Lou Senini Student Art Award, 2006-07; First Site Gallery, Printed Matter Only, 2006; Bus Gallery, Liquid Light, 2006; Royal Exhibition Building, Affordable Art Show, 2004 and Project Space, Actual Results May Vary, 2001. The View (Melbourne) is di Florio’s second solo exhibition at Pieces of Eight Gallery.

The View (Melbourne) will be visible 24 hours a day in the Pieces of Eight Gallery window from Tues 23rd June until Sat 18th July, 2009. The works will be exhibited as a whole created from a series of layered panels which will be available for purchase individually.

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Image from di Florio's studio

An interview with Laura di Florio, June 2009


1. What was the starting point for this new body of work?

I spent a short time in Shanghai last year and was overwhelmed by the scale of the city. I started a series of images there which inspired me to look locally at the Melbourne skyline and think about translating that idea to Melbourne.

The View 1 (Melbourne)

2. What drew you towards creating a ‘skyline’ of Melbourne?

I am completely intrigued and beguiled by the beauty of any skyline and have been wanting to make a large collection of individual works that when grouped together represent something else – in a sculptural way.

The View 3 (Melbourne)

3. You were trained as a printmaker at RMIT, when did you start working with the type of layering we see in this body of work?

The layering started whilst I was studying at RMIT. I was really struggling with incorporating transparency and an atmospheric feeling into the work. I had seen an exhibition at First Site where the artist had used traditional printmaking techniques on acrylic and so I started to experiment with printing photographic images directly onto acrylic and from there layering them together. It sort of snowballed from there.

The View 5 (Melbourne)

4. Can you tell us a little about the process you employ to create these acrylic works?

I generally always carry a camera with me wherever I go. Sometimes the process starts from one of these random photographs I have made on my daily travels. Other times the process starts with an idea of an image then I set about building up a large collection of images. From there I can see how the work will take shape. Next I print the images directly to the acrylic. I generally print many more than I need. Back in the studio I start to sort through and pull the images together into individual works.

The View 4 (Melbourne)

5. Photography has become a large part of your practice, what kind of cameras and techniques do you like to work with?

Photography is a huge part of my practice now. I love all sorts of photographic mediums and am building up quite a collection of cameras. The Holga is a lot of fun. The results are never what you expect due to the quirks of the camera. I also love Polaroid – which is sadly no more (although I have heard about The Impossible Project, which aims to reinvent and relaunch instant film). I have a few other vintage analogue cameras which I enjoy using, as well as several digital cameras. In terms of techniques, I work mostly with natural or streetlight and don’t generally like to work up an image. I love medium format film, and I especially enjoy making multiple exposures to build up an image on one negative.

Sketch book drawing of planned installation of The View (Melbourne)

6. In regards to other artists, who do you consider your greatest inspiration (feel free to list several)?

There are many artists that inspire my work …the ones that stand out are Wolfgang Tillmans, Janet Laurence, Sam Taylor-Wood, Hope Atherton, Bill Henson and Tacita Dean.

di Florio's sketch-book

7. Can you describe a typical day in your studio?

A typical day in the studio …starts with a coffee, checking emails and planning out the day ahead. Loads of research; web research, magazines, books, galleries exploring city, suburban streets and wharf areas for inspiration and photo opportunities; lots of notes and drawing; planning and playing with materials and images; heading out to my acrylic man to pick up supplies or to Port Melbourne to print and then once the light has dropped is when I most love to take pictures.

di Florio's studio

8. How do you visualise the Melbourne city skyline changing in your lifetime?

I love what’s happening down at Docklands – the way our city is changing and redefining itself. The view going over the Bolte Bridge, looking back into the city and out across Footscray, Flemington and beyond is intoxicating – it makes me feel like I am in a much larger city than Melbourne. I imagine that the city will get much denser …much like one of my boxes.

Inside di Florio's sketch books

9. Can you tell us what’s next for you (i.e. upcoming exhibitions, travel, etc)?

I have so many projects lined up for this year and beyond. I am working on some new object based works that will be housed in small Victorian style cabinets, a monochromatic multi-panel photographic work, some private commissions and new photographs.

Acrylic panels in di Florio's studio

10. Could you list for us your favourite websites?

There are so many… but most days I check out The Sartorialist, The Selby, The Design Files and most recently Luxury Culture (thanks to Lucy Folk!).

Exhibitions at RMIT: Schmuck 2009 and Johnannes Kuhnen- a survey of innovation

Currently Melbourne is hosting several fantastic jewellery and hollowwear exhibitions we highly recommend to anyone with an interest in the subject. All four exhibitions held on RMIT city campus so you can visit them in one easy outing.

A highlight is the Schmuck 2009 exhibition which has travelled to Melbourne for the first time from Munich. The biggest international contemporary jewellery exhibition in town for several years, it gives us an insight into current trends and innovations in the wearable. 60 jewellers from 23 countries are represented, and this year marks the fiftieth anniversary of this annual exhibition.

The Johnannes Kuhnen exhibition is a chance to see the scope of this influential master's work. Kuhnen is one of Australia's most accomplished jeweller and metalsmiths and his influence has been especially felt at The Australian National University in Canberra where he has been a member of staff since 1984.

Both exhibitions are currently showing at the RMIT Gallery until 18th July and are accompanied with catalogues which are available for purchase.

Schmuck 2009 and Johnannes Kuhnen: a survey of innovation
Until 18th July
RMIT Gallery
344 Swanston St
Melbourne

Monday – Friday, 11 am - 5 pm
Saturday, 2 pm – 5 pm
Closed public holidays and Sundays

Also while you are on campus, be sure to see two other exhibitions we blogged about earlier this year, Jewellery Topos and Melbourne Hollow Ware. Both exhibitions were first launched at Gallery Marzee in The Netherlands this Feb, and this week opened at RMIT. The Melbourne Hollowware exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue.

Jewellery Topos
(Until 20th June, 09)

First Site Gallery
Storey Hall basement
344 Swanston St
Melbourne


Melbourne Hollow Ware
(Until 19th June, 09)

RMIT School of Art Gallery
Building 2 Level B
Bowen Street (off Latrobe St)
RMIT University City Campus

Featured Artist: Meredith Turnbull

Window Exhibition: Tues May 26 – Sat June 20, 2009
Meredith Turnbull: Some become strangers

Some become strangers is the first collection of jewellery by artist Meredith Turnbull to be exhibited at Piece of Eight gallery. Turnbull’s artistic practice is multifaceted, involving jewellery, objects, photography, video and installation. Largely inspired by abstraction, there is a high level of conceptual consideration that simultaneously intrigues and eludes.



Meredith is a Melbourne based visual artist, jeweller, writer and curator. She completed a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Art History, Latrobe University, 2000, followed by a Bachelor of Fine Art (Gold and Silversmithing), RMIT University, 2005. She edited the online magazine ACCAMag, 2004-2005 and was Project Manager/Assistant to the Artistic Director at ACCA from 2003-2005. Meredith is currently a member of the Next Wave Festival’s Curatorial Advisory Committee and Gallery Manager/Curator of the VCA Margaret Lawrence Gallery.

A range of necklaces, brooches and small objects will be exhibited in the Pieces of Eight window, visible 24 hours daily, Tues May 26 – Sat June 20, 2009.
An interview with Meredith Turnbull

1. Can you talk a little about the title of the exhibition, Some become strangers?

'Some become strangers' is a Stevie Nick’s song that I love. It’s quite poetic, it’s about love, specifically the loss of it or the loss of someone who was once close. More abstractly, I often think of my objects and jewellery as animate, some of which are like living beings I know well, others emerge as a complete surprise to me and are like strangers, or strangers to their environment.


2. In relation to your jewellery pieces you have spoken about “activating” the surface so it “appears as an entirely different material.” Can you discuss this approach?

One of the ways I like to start making is by experimenting with heavy card and paper, cutting, folding and putting together forms. I find the material quality of paper interesting, how it holds a crease or a bend – its sense of plastic memory. I also respond to metal in the same way and try to imbue metal with a papery feel. I guess I also try to activate the whole form as well as the surface, this is why I often hand-paint my work so the eye is attracted to the whole, the shape and line, like a small sculpture rather than perhaps first noticing if it is silver or gold.



3. Scale is a very important aspect of your making. How does it inform your practice?

Scale always informs my practice, but is more apparent when you see other aspects of my work. I often photograph small-scale sculpture to give it the appearance of large-scale work, I love the idea that a piece of jewellery can be monumental, like a Richard Serra or a Sol LeWitt sculpture.


4. In relation to your broader art practice you have spoken about creating “architectonic spaces.” Does this relate to your jewellery work also?

All of my work, in some way, responds to architecture. I’m drawn to Modernist and Brutalist architecture, to the lines and planes of a building, and the different materials used in construction. My interest in architecture forms a sort of undercurrent that affects the jewellery and small-scale sculpture I make. More generally I enjoy thinking about how the architecture of a city affects its inhabitants. I think of my jewellery as something live, growing or living within these spaces.



5. You have described “bringing a material to life” inspired by the Gutai artists Manifesto of the 1950’s. What does this mean to you now, working as a contemporary artist?

I often look to past and present movements in art for inspiration. Gutai focuses on an inherent essence in a material, the idea of presenting the material raw. So I don’t adhere to it in a strict sense but borrow from it some ideas including the desire to embrace the natural decay or wear of a material or an object. I think the interests of Gutai translate more broadly into embracing what is inherent in material and working with it.



6. In terms of exploring both traditional art and craft practices you have spoken about “folding conditions” of craft and art. Can you discuss your ideas around this a little?

I like to conceptually and physically combine my photography and video practice with jewellery, sculpture and installation and vice versa, that’s where the fold occurs. Art and craft aren’t static modes of practice. I enjoy making conversions between them.



7. What’s your current favourite website/blog or online activity?

I can’t live without email and Skype at the moment, but probably it’s to watch documentation of 1960s and 1970s video and performance works on UBU. I also love checking out Melbourne’s daily temperate on the BOM.

Student Design Award Winners 2009 - Jewellery

Following up on our previous post, we congratulate the winners of the new Jewellery Design category and list them below. For all others categories, link to the Design Institute of Australia's website.

1st : Danielle Butters, I Feel
TAFE NSW - Sydney Institute, Design Centre Enmore

2nd : Joanne Piper, Vertical Landscape
TAFE NSW - Sydney Institute, Design Centre Enmore

3rd : Bibi Locke, Weeds of National Significance Series 2008
Griffith University, Queensland College of Art

Design Ex 2009

Design Ex is one of Australia's largest interior architecture and design events run over three days. Part of this event is the Design Institute of Australia's Australasian Student Design Awards for tertiary students. Now in it's 14th year, this was the first year jewellery design was included as a category. The other categories include interior, graphic, textile, industrial and exhibition design.

As part of this award, Pieces of Eight director Melanie Katsalidis was one of the judges, along with:

• Nicholas Pike FDIA, Director - Nicholas Pike Jeweller • Peter Beever, Chairman - Jewellers Association of Australia : Owner – Ringwood Jewellers • Debbie Sheezel, Secretary - Gold and Silversmiths Guild of Australia • Ali Limb, Co-Director- e.g. etal

The theme for this year was 'Sustainable design: design for the environment'. There were some strong entries, and we all felt the winners were outstanding. We will be adding the winner to the blog once they are officially announced.

Today is the last day of Design Ex, catch the awards as well as a seminar or view over 300 leading design companies showcasing their products. Open at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Center (Jeff's Shed) 9.30 to 5pm.

For more info on the awards, link to the Design Institute website.

Read more about Design Ex here.

Thank you to Caroline Benzie, National Program and Events Officer who worked so hard on the awards and pushed for jewellery to be included as a cateogory this year.

Featured Artist: Lucy Folk

Lucy Folk is one of the original members of the Pieces of Eight workshop. We all adore her boundless energy and the playful nature of her work. Most recently, the workshop has seen a pasta explosion as she worked towards her newest range, Pasta.

This collection of sterling silver jewellery will be exhibited in the Pieces of Eight window from Tues April 28th to Sat May 23rd (visible 24hrs a day). The entire collection is available on order, with most pieces on display and ready to be worn! To read more, check our website.

Lucy's inspiration/pin board in her studio

An interview with Lucy Folk for Pieces of Eight, April 09

1. What was the driving force behind the new Pasta collection?

Well as the days and nights get colder, I find I turn to comfort food such as Pasta to warm my belly and put a smile on my face. What better way to celebrate the cooler months than with a new collection of jewellery cast directly from rigatoni, farfalle and silver wire, fashioned into spaghetti rings and bangles?



2. What is it about making jewellery that you find most rewarding?

I think it would have to be being able to wear my own creations and create new pieces to add to my collection! Plus the joy of seeing people who appreciate my work for its humour and fellow foodies who wear it with pride.

Rigatoni cufflinks:
sterling silver, $275

3. Who / what do you currently find inspiring?

I find so much inspires me but it is usually very indirect. Perhaps a colour or a texture, an amazing meal, all of the creative folk in Melbourne that are doing brilliant things… the list goes on.

Farfalle rings: sterling and
oxidised sterling silver, $365 ea

4. You travel quite frequently. What is your current favourite destination and why?

That is a tricky one, aaahhhh! New York 'cause it is so much fun and the galleries are amazing, Paris is so charming, anything by the beach cause that is when you totally switch off… I don’t know!

Farfalle and ruby necklace,
Oxidised sterling silver, $455

5. If you could work with any artist / designer, who would it be?

There are so many that would be fantastic, perhaps Martin Margiela, Victoire de Castellane, Jeff Koons and so on!

The gorgeous Victoire de Castellane wearing her designs for Dior

6. Without any restrictions, what would be your dream collection (to create)?

Something totally crazy using seriously good materials and stones. I haven’t explored dessert so maybe this could be it. Crystal cluster rings that represent jelly, maybe even carving semi precious stones into pendants and rings...

Rigatoni bangle with 18ct gold plating, $275

7. What’s next for Lucy Folk?

Who knows… more travel, collections, hopefully leading into collaborations. Having lots of fun doing it is very important!

Spaghetti rings: oxidised sterling silver with rubies, $285 ea,
plain (text only, no rubies) and sold in a set of three, $200

8. Share a favourite recipe with us:

Delicious Cabbage Salad
Shave cabbage, red and white, finely chop red onion, chili, lemon zest, mint, lemon juice, feta (Dodoni), good olive oil. Yum!

Rigatoni necklace, sterling silver, $420

9. What websites / blogs do you enjoy visiting?

Bureau of Meteorology, Webjet, Luxury Culture, Gourmet Traveller, JC Report, Last FM

Lucy hammering the text
into her Rigatoni bangles

Who's that wearing a Lucy Folk 'Tutte Farfalle' necklace?

When she was in Melbourne recently, singer Lilly Allen
was given one of Lucy's Farfalle necklaces
by Fuzzy on Video Hits. What a lucky girl!

Co-incidentally, she also received one of Craig Spark's 'Science of Luxury'
necklaces which she also wears in these photos.
Look out for new work from Craig coming to the gallery soon.

The Complete Compendium of Contemporary Jewellery 2008

It has finally arrived- The Compendium Finale of Contemporary Jewellers 2008, Vol. 1 and 2!

Published by the rather daring Darling Publications and hand bound, it weighs 13.55kg, is 2400 pages and profiles 1000 jeweller from around the world. It is the first of it's kind! The artists were invited to participate via nomination by their peers.

Launched this February at the Shmuck 09 International Trade Fair in Munich, Germany, all participating artists in Australia had to wait to receive their copy. While some of us had our copies slightly damaged in transit, it was still exciting to explore the heavy volumes, searching for friends and discovering new makers.

Pieces of Eight artists included are: Alida Cappelletta, Michelle Cangiano, Nina Ellis, Yuko Fujita, Lucy Folk, Djurdjica Kesic, Melanie Katsalidis, Elfrun Lach, Teresa Lane, Jimena Rios, Suzi Zutic.