Pairs of Pieces by Helen Britton

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Helen Britton

When I'm making my work, although I rarely have a clear idea of the end result, I am in pursuit of a fleeting vision that I chase along until the pieces start to materialize on my worktable. Over so many years of making I have observed that this often results in pairs of pieces. There they are then, in the end, these two friendly companions, singing together, vibrating at the right intensity, complementing each other, yet quite autonomous.

What happened along the way? Was there just too much to say to fit into one work? The vision is often dense and chaotic, so perhaps it is a kind of spreading and organizing within the creative process that produces the two possibilities. And this is jewellery after all, so there needs to be space for the wearer.

It not only like this though. At other times, works are being made or coming back to the studio. I lay them out to revisit them, learn more about them, and during this process I recognize quite clearly relationships between pairs, that may in fact be separated by months or even years. For this exhibition I have made and gathered works that examine this experience.

Helen Britton, April 2014