‘My work explores different possibilities at different times, often evoking a sense of riffed nostalgia, slippage and mystery; I reference my everyday landscape and built environment, whether that be digital or physical. I am also interested in the dual, ‘the jewel and the object’, ‘jewellery and the other’ where I combine other artistic endeavours into the realm of jewellery such as printmaking, darkroom photography, sculpture, painting and holography.’

Moniek Schrijer was born in Aotearoa New Zealand and is currently based in Pōneke, where she also works as an Intermediate art teacher. Recently (2021), Moniek undertook a McCahon house residency which is amongst the most prestigious artists’ residencies in New Zealand; she was the first jeweller in residence at Parehuia. With an extensive exhibition back catalogue, Moniek’s work is a part of significant private and public collections in Aotearoa and abroad.

1) square pendants, 2022. sterling silver, cubic zirconia, glass, polished (nz) gemstones, paint, cotton cord. 90x90mm 

2) circle square necklace, 2022. sterling silver (oxidised) cubic zirconia

‘At first glance, unplanned spaces within the urban landscape may seem stuck in a kind of limbo, melancholic & lifeless.
To me they epitomise a space between just before and a moment after.

A waymark.
Spaces where the past, present and future merge, something ineffable… a site of subtle awe.

Vanessa Arthur lives and works in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand.

Arthur completed a Bachelor of Applied Arts at Whitireia NZ in 2011. On graduating she was selected as artist in residence at Toi Pōneke Arts Centre, Wellington, and awarded the 2011 Fingers Gallery Graduate Award. 

A participant in the Handshake project, she completed a two year mentorship with Australian Goldsmith David Neale in 2015.

Vanessa has exhibited both throughout New Zealand and internationally. In 2018 she was selected for Iwa: New Zealand Makers – an exhibition of nine featured perspectives in New Zealand contemporary jewellery, spanning four decades of practice in Aotearoa New Zealand. Brought together for Munich Jewellery Week, these practices articulated a relationship to one another as tributaries to a larger, transforming field of practice.

Vanessa’s work is directly influenced by her regular documentation and excavation of spaces within the built urban environment, the spaces between planning. 

The often overlooked elements within the streetscape are her muse; buffed walls, wet cement scrawling, fragments and objects left behind in the rush.  An exploration of the marks we make and the mark we make.

1) Float for a day pt3.  Pin, 2022. Steel, sterling silver, brass, heat set & enamel paint, oil pastel., 70 x 85 x 6 mm

2) Float for a day pt3.  Pin (back detail). 2022, Steel, sterling silver, brass, heat set & enamel paint, oil pastel., 70 x 85 x 6 mm

3) Waymark. Earrings. 2022. Sterling silver, heat set & enamel paint. 70 x 30 x 10 mm

4) Paint.Erase.Repeat. Pendant, 2022. Sterling silver, brass, heat set & enamel paint, oil pastel, cord. 85 x 20 mm

Caroline’s practice is driven by the forces of material, language, humour and experimentation. Found materials accumulate around her until a relationship suggests itself. Her past working life as an image researcher, where one picture was often expected to convey a larger story, enables her to encapsulate large, often unwieldy concepts and ideas into a single form or handful of materials. Caroline especially enjoys using existing objects that already lived a life and transforms them, finding them new partners and adding new layers to their experiences.

Caroline was born in London, UK in the 1960s to Kiwi parents. She studied History of Art at Edinburgh University and worked as an image researcher in London in the publishing industry for several years. She moved to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2007 and studied contemporary jewellery at Whitireia NZ from 2011-13. Since then she has exhibited widely at home and internationally and is a current member of The See Here and Occupation: Artist. Caroline has also participated in the HandShake jewellery mentoring programme.