Two Way Hinge

with
Katie Collins

Conventional methods of display of jewellery in galleries, museums or retail settings, often in the form of cabinet, plinth, mannequin, or wall leave little opportunity for interactivity or the multidimensional engagement that occurs through the wearing or holding of the object. These systems of display also set up a scale and orientation of spatial relations synonymous with museological conditions of repose that resist bodily activity of movement and touch. This is a significant problem for the communication of the intentions and outcomes of the object by the jeweller who has a requirement of display. 

This project seeks to breakdown the rigidity of these conventional display systems to provide a more dynamic spatial and temporal environment that will allow for a multi-dimensional communication and participatory engagement with its audience. For the jeweller, two situations are considered - as object (when encountered independent of a body) and as jewellery (when placed on the body). A third situation is evoked through this work in the transformation that activates the object in movement.  

Measuring approximately 2.5 meters by 3 meters, the work takes the form of a spatially layered assembly of material components constructed from mild steel, polished stainless steel, brass and jewellery objects. The material selection is in part, a consequence of the revealed actions or movements within the components but also determined through performative moments of reflection, contrast and camouflage. The display environment hinges, moves, shifts and expands to display the jewellery object as transformative and interdependent relationship. 

Home