A new jewellery exhibition showcasing work inspired by northern Europe is set to go on display in Edinburgh.
A Sense of Place, New Jewellery from Northern Lands, to be shown at the National Museum of Scotland, features pieces by artists from Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland, Denmark and Scotland, who were each asked to create jewellery inspired by a place they love.
Led by jeweller Beth Legg as part of a doctorate research programme at Edinburgh College of Art, participating artists were requested to choose a place which is special to them and fill an individual box with objects and materials relating to that place.
They were then tasked with creating a piece of jewellery in response to that place, before their ‘Topophilia’ (love of place) boxes were redistributed anonymously for jewellers to make a second piece based on someone else’s place.
Ms Legg said: “In this diverse group of new work, we can observe poetic responses to feelings of belonging through the language of making. These jewellery artists are storytellers of personal narratives of place and this project is a celebration of our cultural links through our lived experience of our environment, forming new connections to our place in the world.”
Amongst the pieces on display, which include brooches, necklaces and pins made from natural materials and precious metals, is a collection of 77 pearl pins made by Ingjerd Hanevold from Asker, Norway, who received her second box from Finnish jeweller Tarja Tuupanen on the day of the massacre carried out by Anders Behring Breivik. Each pin was made to commemorate the victims.
Caroline Holt, from Edinburgh, also created a necklace of concrete houses after being given a box by Swedish artist Jenny Klemming, telling the story of a village swept away by a storm in 1872, and a brooch made from antlers by Tobias Alm, from Stockholm.
Rose Watban, senior curator of Applied Art and Design, National Museums Scotland, who worked with Ms Legg on the exhibition, said: “This is a new and innovative project and we’re delighted with the results. The jewellery on display is varied, beautiful and echoes the atmosphere of much-loved places - from stormy sea coasts to urban city centres.”
The exhibition will run from May 18 to September 16 in the Grand gallery of the national Museum of Scotland.
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