Once You Were Mine .....

Just delivered this neckpiece to e.g.etal Contemporary Jewellery Gallery for an upcoming exhibition

called “Once you were mine...” the exhibition is about how we hold on to jewellery. Even the pieces that are broken, missing the pair, or living a meaningless life at the bottom of a pile. The staff at e.g.etal chose two pieces of pre-loved jewellery from their own collections.  But of course there is a story to each piece – bought as good luck charm, found in the pocket of an op shop jacket, worn on unsuccessful first date.... The concept behind this exhibition is for each piece to  be given new life. Artists were asked to choose an item and transform it. Invest it with a story of your own.

I chose a Returned Services League Badge.  I really loved it's shape.  My piece is called "Missing" and alludes to the faceless soldiers who never returned home.

You can see the original badge here, amongst some of the other interesting bits and pieces we had to choose from.

 I used the fitting on the back of the badge to make the clasp for the neckpiece.

Such a fun project!