18 August 2011

Host A Brooch: Urban Jewellery Project

Christchurch gallery The National finds a new way of showcasing its jewellery following the loss of its space.

After losing its gallery space in the February earthquakes, Christchurch's The National is bringing its work to the public in a different way.

Its latest initiative, Host A Brooch, repurposes objects from around the city and takes them to the streets.

Contemporary jeweller Jacqui Chan has created 16 brooches out of materials gathered around Christchurch. Between 26 August and 1 October, the public is invited to 'host a brooch' on an urban expedition.

"Just as a bicycle alters our experience of a city, the brooches produce new sensory experiences, routes and encounters, (re)connecting us with our suroundings," The National states.

Brooch hosts will document their adventures through a series of photographs, which will then be compiled into a visual map and record of the city.

The project arose from Chan's concept of the city as a living organism, a 'saprophyte' that lives on decomposing matter and releases nutrients into the ecosystem.

Her brooches take the waste of the city, transform it and feed back as they are worn. In a city experiencing a state of change and rebirth, the brooches represent the ability for discarded and damaged materials to take on new life.