Opening February 10, ‘Joyaviva,’ at Melbourne’s RMIT Gallery, sees artists from Australia, Chile and New Zealand displaying their charms in a two-week exhibition.
The innovative jewellers begin their two-year travelling exhibition here in Melbourne before taking it to New Zealand, Chile, Bolivia and closing in Mexico in 2013.
According to the ‘Joyaviva’ website, the exhibition aims to display objects with “its own life as a device for sharing hopes and fears.” The collection consists of pieces designed by a young group of jewellers focusing on the environment.
Using a variety of materials from sterling silver to linen cloth RMIT Gallery director, Suzanne Davies, believes this collection “recovers the power of jewellery and its role in helping people navigate through their lives.”
Davies said the exhibition showcases modern charms and in turn creates a new space for contemporary jewellery as a form of social design.
“The global ubiquity of good luck charms reaches from East to West and is both contemporaneous and historical,” Davies said. “Charms that have warded off evil and marshalled the forces proliferate and are as compelling now as in the past; we hope that all who come to view this show will be empowered by the experience.”
Davies said many of the artists exhibiting on the ‘Joyaviva’ tour came from areas affected by natural disasters including the Christchurch quake last year and the Chilean tsunami and earthquake in 2010.
As a result each charm tells a story about the effect its materials had on the creators with many pieces used from the natural confounds of earth. ‘Joyaviva’ encourages visitors to share their own stories from personal experiences.
“The artists have responded directly to the needs of survivors to reconstruct their confidence in the land on which they live,” Davies said.
‘Joyaviva’s’ curator, Kevin Murray, said the exhibition would help rediscover the lost power of jewellery and how it could potentially change people’s lives.
“The exhibition features not only the intriguing modern variations on the traditional charm, but also the stories of those who have worn them,” Murray said.
‘Joyaviva’ runs from February 10-24 at the RMIT Gallery in Melbourne’s Swanston Street.
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