Alchemy: contemporary jewellery from Britain [Archives:2007/1078/Last Page]

Alchemy: contemporary jewellery from Britain presents the work of eight jewellers who challenge conventional parameters of jewellery design. The British Council Exhibition lasts until 12 September at Sana'a Trade Center. By experimenting with materials, references and scale they question our inherited notions of value, identity and adornment the exhibition is organised by the British Council's Art, Architecture & Design team. Solange Azagury-Partridge, Naomi Filmer, Tanvi Kant, Andrew Lamb, Shaun Leane, Lina Peterson, Laura Potter, and Scott Wilson – each exemplify a unique approach to jewellery practice. Alchemy was created by Alison Moloney and Dana Andrew, British Council Arts Group, London.

Britain has long enjoyed an international reputation for innovation in jewellery. The mutable culture of adornment over the past century and the commitment of educational institutions to developing original creative practice have ensured the potential for jewellery as an important medium for creative expression. In the 1970s and 80s Britain's designers expanded the concept of jewellery through the materials and techniques they used and the questionable wearability of the forms they created.

Their departures from tradition had a lasting effect, and a new generation of designers and makers continue to enlarge the form and meaning of jewellery in Britain in varied and surprising ways.

British Council Director in Yemen, Elizabeth White said: “I am delighted that we can bring this exhibition to Yemen. In this part of the world, jewellery is an important element in women's dress, and the fine craft of jewellery making in Yemen hoes back centuries. It's fascinating to compare rich traditions of Yemeni jewellery with the approaches of these contemporary jewellers from Britain.

I hope that everyone with an interest in jewellery – which is all women, and not a few men – will have the chance to come and see this glittering exhibition.”

The diversity of work by each jeweller in this exhibition reflects a cultural climate that nurtures the individual. Meanwhile, in the commercial context of mass manufacturing, the work of this new generation highlights the unique value and desirability of the hand made.

From necklaces made of paper or recycled fabric to theatrical diamond rings and full body sculptures, jewellery can be approached on many levels – aesthetic daring, technological and material innovation, commercial enterprise, semiotic or personal significance, pure craft – presenting an alternative vision of adornment for the 21st Century.

The exhibition is touring the countries of the Arabian peninsula. In Yemen, as well as the exhibition, the British Council in Yemen is organizing a workshop by Laura Potter on jewellery making for young women with an interest in jewellery design.
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