Solo Exhibition: COALESCENCE
While engaging with the overarching concept of ‘connection’, this work is concerned with human interactions and what it means to come together in ways that may have once been considered inconceivable. It does this by provoking an unexpected, yet precise disruption to a usually serene horizon line, allowing divergent entities to converge, and perhaps encouraging opposite poles to coalesce.
Presented by Courtesy of the Artist, the COALESCENCE exhibition is accompanied by a short film that gives an insight into Lee’s artistic practice.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Universally symbolic of the infinite and even the sublime, in my jewellery the horizon has become an important metaphor for human relationships and the dual nature of all things.
When reflecting on events of the past two years, the theme that stands out as most salient for me is ‘connection’. As a jeweller, connections are already central to my work: the fundamental relationship between material and process, the interface between hands and tools, the contact between skin and metal, and of course the intimate bonds between my clients. However, witnessing the dramatic impacts of ongoing separation imposed by the COVID pandemic has sharply highlighted for me the importance of basic human connections above all else.
The COALESCENCE series is therefore concerned with human interactions and what it means to come together in ways that may have once been considered inconceivable. It does this by suggesting an unexpected, yet precise disruption to a usually serene horizon line, allowing opposing forces to converge, and perhaps encouraging separate entities to coalesce.
Having employed the rivet as a functional feature in my jewellery for some time, a key motivation for the series was to reach beyond predictable methods of combining dissimilar metals to achieve a more direct process of joining without the use of rivets, pins or heat. Drawing on the principles of traditional Japanese joinery, a narrow tongue and groove system has been designed to maximise the surface area at the junction points, so that two halves can be bonded through force and friction alone. This new method relies on machine accuracy in conjunction with traditional bench skills to enable a ‘perfect fit’. The optical effects of the resulting intermeshed structures also give rise to a kind of ‘visual coalescence’ of the two metal halves.
By juxtaposing contrasting metals, each with their own unique character, their intrinsic physical qualities are exploited to achieve both visual and metaphorical contrast. Forced together the two halves find structural integrity as the precious metal components become both elevated and fortified by the tenacity of their titanium counterparts.
This work pushes the limits of the methods used, connecting high and low technology, where advanced additive manufacturing is combined with laborious and repetitive hand fitting and surfacing. One relies on the other, as either half of each piece relies on the other to be complete.
WHEN: 6 - 13 November 2021
WHERE: Courtesy of the Artist Gallery, The Strand Arcade, Sydney Australia