Katherine Hubble. RMIT University. New Talents Award Nominee 2022.
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NewTalentsByKlimt02
Artists
Published: 03.01.2023
- Author:
- RMIT University
- Edited by:
- Klimt02
- Edited at:
- Barcelona
- Edited on:
- 2023
The 8th edition of the New Talents Award by Klimt02 aims to recognize the work of graduate students in our field by supporting their careers in the professional world. Nominated by our school members, one of the selected graduates will win the New Talents Award.
Finding new ways to represent pearls and shells by exploring the surfaces and forms; Material experimentation explores the assembly of manmade materials and industrial processes. The initial studies are informed by bibliographical research about the history of the pearl and its presence in jewellery.
Name of graduation student: Katherine Hubble.
Name of guiding teacher: Kirsten Haydon.
Nominated by Gold & Silversmithing Studio School of Art . RMIT University .
Katherine Hubble has been exploring the pearl as a cultural construct and phenomenon since her Honours year, considering how jewellery archetypes in combination with the pearl could be used to discuss ideas of contemporary femininity and identity. In 2018 Katherine received a postgraduate position at the university to undertake a Master of Fine Art (Research). This project looked specifically at the environment and context of the pearl in Australia.
Contemporaneously pearls and the shells that nurture them have risen in art and design. This research project does not seek to find fashionable outcomes and uses for cultivated pearls. Instead, Katherine visited the industry to investigate and understand how precious pearls are formed during the farming process. These findings are used to consider new and alternative ways to re-imagine the pearl and, in turn, elevate the humble Pinctada maxima (pearl shell) that produce it today.
/ Dr. Kirsten Haydon, Senior Lecturer. Gold & Silversmithing Studio School of Art . RMIT University .
The statement of the artist:
Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects.
This practice-led research project investigates the industry methods around Australian South Sea pearls and the Pinctada maxima (pearl shell) in the context of a studio-based contemporary jewellery practice. This project will look closely at how Australia’s northwest pearling industries operate and at the pearling history of Broome.
My research utilises material-based experimentation in the jewellery studio to find new ways to represent pearls and shells by exploring the surfaces and forms. Material experimentation explores the assembly of manmade materials and industrial processes. The initial studies are informed by bibliographical research about the history of the pearl and its presence in jewellery.
Travel to Broome in Western Australia provides opportunities to closely observe the methods used in the cultivating, harvesting, and grading of cultured Australian South Sea pearls. The fieldwork at pearl farms in Australia reveals the industry methods used in pearl cultivation; these processes provide new insights that go beyond the traditional representation of the pearl as an isolated jewel or singular strand.
Drawing on imagery and experiences from conducted fieldwork, my studio-based artworks are developed through drawing, model making, and material experimentation. I utilise heuristic-making processes that allow for trial and error. The jewellery objects use materials sourced for the visual qualities of synthetic, luminous iridescence that can be used within contemporary industrial processes, such as vacuum forming and 3D printing.
The project seeks to explore the notion of what Australian pearl jewellery could become in the twenty-first century. It uses the changing role of jewellery to think through the representation of pearls and their shells.
Contact:
Email: hubblekatherine@gmail.com
Instagram: @katherine_hubble
Phone: +61 0401 942 525
Find out more about RMIT University
Name of guiding teacher: Kirsten Haydon.
Nominated by Gold & Silversmithing Studio School of Art . RMIT University .
Katherine Hubble has been exploring the pearl as a cultural construct and phenomenon since her Honours year, considering how jewellery archetypes in combination with the pearl could be used to discuss ideas of contemporary femininity and identity. In 2018 Katherine received a postgraduate position at the university to undertake a Master of Fine Art (Research). This project looked specifically at the environment and context of the pearl in Australia.
Contemporaneously pearls and the shells that nurture them have risen in art and design. This research project does not seek to find fashionable outcomes and uses for cultivated pearls. Instead, Katherine visited the industry to investigate and understand how precious pearls are formed during the farming process. These findings are used to consider new and alternative ways to re-imagine the pearl and, in turn, elevate the humble Pinctada maxima (pearl shell) that produce it today.
/ Dr. Kirsten Haydon, Senior Lecturer. Gold & Silversmithing Studio School of Art . RMIT University .
The statement of the artist:
Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects.
This practice-led research project investigates the industry methods around Australian South Sea pearls and the Pinctada maxima (pearl shell) in the context of a studio-based contemporary jewellery practice. This project will look closely at how Australia’s northwest pearling industries operate and at the pearling history of Broome.
My research utilises material-based experimentation in the jewellery studio to find new ways to represent pearls and shells by exploring the surfaces and forms. Material experimentation explores the assembly of manmade materials and industrial processes. The initial studies are informed by bibliographical research about the history of the pearl and its presence in jewellery.
Travel to Broome in Western Australia provides opportunities to closely observe the methods used in the cultivating, harvesting, and grading of cultured Australian South Sea pearls. The fieldwork at pearl farms in Australia reveals the industry methods used in pearl cultivation; these processes provide new insights that go beyond the traditional representation of the pearl as an isolated jewel or singular strand.
Drawing on imagery and experiences from conducted fieldwork, my studio-based artworks are developed through drawing, model making, and material experimentation. I utilise heuristic-making processes that allow for trial and error. The jewellery objects use materials sourced for the visual qualities of synthetic, luminous iridescence that can be used within contemporary industrial processes, such as vacuum forming and 3D printing.
The project seeks to explore the notion of what Australian pearl jewellery could become in the twenty-first century. It uses the changing role of jewellery to think through the representation of pearls and their shells.
Contact:
Email: hubblekatherine@gmail.com
Instagram: @katherine_hubble
Phone: +61 0401 942 525
Find out more about RMIT University
Necklace: Juvenile Byssus, 2019
Polypropylene, thermoforming plastic, vinyl tint, silver, freshwater pearls
25 x 25 x 7 cm
Photo by: Henry Trumble
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Neckpiece: Iridescent Parasite #I, 2019
Polypropylene, vinyl tint, freshwater pearls, nylon thread
35 x 30 x 4 cm
Photo by: Katherine Hubble
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Neckpiece: Pearl Technician #I (Rope) & #III (Matinee), 2021
Polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, gold, nylon thread
Photo by: Fred Kroh
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
Brooch: Plastic Lustre Brooch Series, 2019
Polypropylene, vinyl tint, acrylic, silver, steel
dimensions variable.
Photo by: Fred Kroh
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
MFA Examination Installation 2022.
Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects, Hatchery Strand series (2019-2020) & Plastic Lustre series (2019-2022).
Image by Fred Kroh
Image by Fred Kroh
© By the author. Read Klimt02.net Copyright.
- Author:
- RMIT University
- Edited by:
- Klimt02
- Edited at:
- Barcelona
- Edited on:
- 2023
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