Untitled by Aphra Cheesman

Neckpiece / Geometric Abstract Pattern

Micro-welding, painting.

On daily walks, Aphra Cheesman turned her attention to traces of encounters between people and things. She collected worn or crumbled objects and materials that still bear evidence of their earlier function. She converted these found pieces into jewellery and objects in her series “Stuff” by reacting to these objects. In doing so, she combines, transforms and alienates elements of these familiar things. This results in a hybrid familiarity that withdraws the objects from a clear classification and turns them into “stuff”. The work “Tin Can and Fence” for example goes back to a walk where Aphra Cheesman found a rusty tin can next to a warped wire fence. She recreated the discarded tin can in mild steel, then added a wire fence pattern based on the shadow of the fence at the place where the can was found. Along the drawn lines, she cut the object into more than 100 small sections, which were then welded back together. This deconstruction and reconstruction distorted the shape of the piece and conveyed its original shape all the more forcefully. In her work, Aphra Cheesman uses traditional metalworking techniques such as soldering, enamelling, and repoussé, as well as newer technologies such as micro-welding and other processes such as painting, moulding, and sewing. As an inspiration for her work, she names Maurizia Boscagli’s "Stuff Theory". This asks to pay more attention to the objects and to reconsider the common categorizations. Aphra Cheesman's objects alternate between the familiar and the new and thus draw attention to themselves - to their shape, the unusual surfaces, materials and colours.

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