HOST A BROOCH:
An Urban Jewellery Project by JACQUI CHAN
26 AUG - 1 OCT 2011
HOST A BROOCH, presented by The National during the Christchurch Arts Festival 2011, took jewellery out of the gallery and back to the street. The project is part of JACQUI CHAN's ongoing research into the relation between jewellery and the urban environment. Initially scheduled for the gallery, the February earthquake left us with no permanent space. In response, the Host A Brooch concept developed, operating from a shipping container and using jewellery to engage the city; transforming the jewellery exhibition into an expedition.
Materials around Christchurch were gathered and transformed by Chan into a series of sixteen intricate brooches. Operating like a bike-sharing system, the public were invited to "host a brooch" on an excursion around the city centre of Christchurch. Just as a bicycle provides an alternative way of encountering a city, the brooches generate new sensory experiences, routes and encounters connecting us with our surroundings in a new way. In order to bypass personal preference - and thus our habitual way of seeing the world - the brooches were selected by "lucky-dip", and over six weekends, each brooch was hosted on multiple bodies. Wandering aimlessly through the city, without a prescribed route, wearers were asked to notice how the brooch drew attention to aspects of their surroundings and to take photos. Over the six weeks, these accumulated in the container, charting new adventures and occupation of the recuperating city.
Visit the HOST A BROOCH Blog to read extensively about the project and to see images taken by the numerous wearers:
>http:/hostabrooch.blogspot.com/ |
