Janine Combes
Title: Garlands of Fragments – neckpieces 1, 2 and 3
Medium:
1.copper, engraved with patina, (neckpieces).
2.sterling silver, engraved (earrings)
Dimensions: 1.47 x 27 x 1 cms (neckpieces)
7 x 2 x 0.3 cms, variable sizes (earrings)
Price: neckpieces NFS
Earrings: $280 AUD
Three large neckpieces, called Garlands of Fragments 1,2 and 3. These are part of my Masters body of work. In these works, I have engraved ‘fragmented’ text into copper and patina has been applied to surfaces. Evoking forms of torn letters the text speaks of forgetting, our tenuous hold on this place and how we may learn to live lightly, to belong. They ask us to look back but also forward into a different future.
Also included in the exhibition are three sets of etched silver earrings.
About Janine:
Working from an off-grid, solar-powered studio on Bruny Island, I create wearable expressions of identity, place and belonging. My current research for a Master of Fine Arts, at the University of Tasmania, centres on this theme, with a specific focus on abandoned towns, colonisation, and resource exploitation. I use the form of the fragment as a symbol for what I call the unfinished business, for settler Australians, of learning to belong. I explore ‘shadow places’, sites of resource exploitation that have supported our prosperity and lifestyles. In this project, I work with materials with a link to my research sites including copper, silver, tin, and gold. My practice involves the use of ethically sourced and recycled materials.