Contemporary Wearables '25 Biennial Jewellery Award & Exhibition – Toowoomba

I have wonderful news, my jewellery is a finalist as part of the Contemporary Wearables ’25 exhibition from:  

30 August to 23 November 2025

Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery

531 Ruthven St, Toowoomba City QLD 4350

Chased copper necklace

Title: ‘Just for the love of chasing’

Reused copper u-bends from refrigeration tubing, chased, oxidised sterling silver, paint and wax

Necklace length 54x width 7cm

Earrings height 6 x width 3cm

Photographer:

Christina Papadimitriou

‘Just for the love of chasing’

Ugly, unlikely, and unwanted these were the origins of my materials. I found them buried in the dust and grime of a scrap metal yard. Yet, I couldn’t resist their potential. I collected these humble tubes, holding onto them for years, letting ideas slowly percolate.

Through endless experimentation, I explored ways to transform them. It wasn’t until I immersed myself in chasing and repoussé that a new possibility emerged using mark-making to breathe life into the forgotten.

This seemingly arduous task allows me to be completely present, focused on one thing at a time away from screens, and daily distractions. I aim to place this centuries-old technique within a contemporary context, honouring and challenging the tradition.

While creating this work, we were deluged with months of torrential, record-breaking tropical rain. This produced rampant growth in the garden mosses, fungi, and layers of mould. The lush, saturated world outside filtered into my studio and influenced the colours used within the work.

What was once discarded scrap became entirely new. This necklace and earring set is, at its core, about the love of chasing not only the technique itself, but the pursuit of transformation, curiosity, and the aesthetics hidden within the overlooked.