Whichever Way the Wind Blows

Melinda Young lives and works on Dharawal Country. Her research-based practice spans jewellery and intimately scaled textiles reflecting experiences of being in and understanding place, underpinned by complexities of place-based making in contemporary Australia. She is interested in materiality - the traces of human and non-human interactions left behind on the body and the land. Exhibiting extensively in Australia and internationally since 1997, her work is held in public collections and included in numerous publications.

Melinda is a Lecturer at UNSW Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture and undertaking a PhD in Human Geography and Creative Arts, University of Wollongong.

Gabbee Stolp’s practice exists across several mediums with a primary focus on contemporary jewellery, object-making, and textiles. Gabbee’s work examines material, memory, and place, evoking biological and metaphysical themes including grief, loss, and human-induced extinction. Gabbee creates gentle tools with which to reflect on time and change and the way our human lives are invariably connected to the deep history and ecology of the places we live.

The symbolism of materials and the acts involved in making are important in Gabbee's contemporary jewellery pieces. Gabbee combines found materials like shells, with textiles. By covering and softly stitching objects in a gently nurturing and restorative gesture, Gabbee aims to provide a reminder of the strength and the value of human tenderness and the depth and vulnerability of our more-than-human world.

Gabbee also collects water from sites of personal significance; using this to cast precious metals, she creates unpredictable, fluid-like pieces that become tangible vessels for the transitory memory connected to the place where the water was collected.

Regina Middleton is an Artist and Jeweller who resides and works on Wadawurrung Country along the coastal dunes of Torquay.

Regina holds a Bachelor of Arts - Jewellery Design, Curtin University and an Honours in Fine Art, Monash University.

Regina’s practice has evolved from a desire to adorn the body to seeking balance and flow within ‘sculptural assemblages.’ Weathered Plastic Gems/Marine Debris/Flotsam and Jetsam are her material of choice. Collected along the high tide line, Regina elevates these unique materials, treating each one as a beautiful gem, as you would a sapphire, diamond or ruby. The plastics are paired with Freshwater and Faux Pearls, also once loved but discarded into hopeful hands of another, to elevate their perceived value.

Inspired by the natural world, Regina’s work reflects spirit, colour, shape, form and texture, whilst exploring a balance between representative and imagined landscapes. Themes of femininity, consumption and grief are intertwined; with an intuitive pull towards embellishment and adornment these ‘jewels for a wall’ invite the viewer to pause, reflect and seek curiosity and connection.

New Zealand-born artist Liv Boyle is based in Naarm/Melbourne, working across contemporary jewellery, object, and installation. Drawn to water, Liv’s practice explores sites on the periphery – tidelines, points of convergence and accumulation. Years of beachcombing have led to a focus on marine microplastics, and sentinel species within these ecologies. Her observations play out through discreet interventions and environmental exchanges, with collaboration underpinning her research-driven approach.

Liv holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Sculpture) from Elam School of Fine Arts, The University of Auckland (2005), and an Advanced Diploma in Jewellery from Melbourne Polytechnic (2013). She exhibits broadly across Australia and internationally.

Lori Hakim is a contemporary jeweller based on the Mornington Peninsula/Bunurong Country. Guided by intuitive making and material exploration, her work balances spontaneity with restraint.

Drawing influence from collecting, assembling and interpreting what is around her, with a particular interest in her natural surroundings. Lori’s exhibition practice comments on humankind’s impact on the environment, in particular through the transformation of coastal waste.

Through a minimalist lens, she investigates colour, form, and texture to create expressive, sculptural pieces.

With a diverse educational background. She holds a fashion design diploma from RMIT, a Bachelor of Business and Visual Arts ( Marketing /Jewellery) from Monash University, an Advanced Diploma in Jewellery and Object Design from Melbourne Polytechnic and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.

Please join the artists at G3 Artspace, Parkdale for a Public Program and Celebration event, including complimentary refreshments.

RSVPs are appreciated and details will be advertised closer to the time.