Making contact
"Contact" is made from pounamu, carved into the
ubiquitous form of a hand-sanitiser pump nozzle. Placed on a sanitiser bottle
at the entrance to an exhibition venue, “Contact” performs its day-to-day
function while metaphorically referencing a touchstone; absorbing mauri from
all who touch the pump. This touch and subsequent cleansing invite thought
about states of restriction and normality.
The pounamu for “Contact” was a koha from a
colleague. Alistair’s father was a rockhound and this material was passed to
Alistair as part of his father’s estate. The first work I made from this
material was a cabochon set in a silver ring. The ring was made in jeweller Kobi
Bosshard’s workshop & follows a traditional way of hand-working championed
by Kobi. I offered to koha the ring back to Alistair who received it
gratefully, enacting a reciprocity that becomes a part of the stone’s biography.
“Contact” also
functions as a pendant with the cord retracing the flow of sanitizer through
the nozzle’s interior channels. When worn “Contact” offers a reminder of the
body’s susceptibility to the entry of virus via touch or inhalation. This
awareness generated by the jewellery might be considered a talismanic function.
Taking the nozzle away from its usual context obscures its immediate
recognition but it is somehow familiar. A scrutiny of the pendant reveals the
elegance of the intersecting surfaces and the careful transitions from top to
side to base. The admiration of form pays tribute to the work of the industrial
designers who invest time and creativity in humble utilitarian objects so
often overlooked after their function has been performed. Transmutation from a
mundane object into carved stone is a strategy that gives a nod to contemporary
jewellers such as Joe Sheehan, Warwick Freeman and Craig McIntosh. There is a
fascination with this methodology that is particular to jewellery from Aotearoa New Zealand.