Bridget Catchpole new jewellery

Artist list

Bridget Catchpole

'As you desire me…' (1932 soap ad.) is a satirical grouping of work that parodies the color, texture and bold forms found in communication design. Empty cosmetic and beauty product containers are transformed and manipulated into prickly and bumpy amorphous shapes using a heat gun and/or air suction from a small studio constructed vacuum former.
Retaining little of its original shape and function the reworked plastic becomes symbolic. Popular advertising fallaciously represents itself to mend the western cultural dichotomy between physical and inner beauty. It appears to “remedy” our inner sense of well being through physical alterations. Thus the physical garbage of the cosmetic containers are analogous to the throwing away of our natural beauty.
Her work is a juxtaposition of identity and culture. Specifically, it is a response to the limits of conformity and consumption, using humor, and new technologies and materials alongside traditional metal techniques. As a result, the wearer and viewer become participants in a discourse of interpretation.

Bridget Catchpole has been a studio jeweller for over ten years. In 1998, she received her BFA, with distinction, in Studio Art at Concordia University in Montreal. She has been recognized by the Canada Council for the Arts and the British Columbia Arts Council as well as exhibiting internationally. Thematically, Catchpole’s work references social and political issues, cultural identity and personal history. 

Her work can, most recently, be seen in Metalsmith’s Exhibition in Print 2004, 1000 Rings, 500 Brooches and 500 Earrings published by Lark Books, 2004/2007.