2021 Catalogue Archive

Lisa Walker has built a reputation for including anything and everything into her works in jewelry. Although she trained as a goldsmith, the artist challenges the medium’s traditional notions by sourcing her elements from found objects; fabric scraps, nails, and old cell phones have all been the protagonists of certain neckpieces. “I make reactionary work, consciously active with influences from all walks of culture and life.” This necklace, however, is less of a rejection of her background in metal than she is known. The hanging parts seem to be scrap silver sheet from Walker’s bench that she has drilled holes into and engraved with various evocative words, turning what would have been discarded fragments into the dynamic body of the neckpiece. It is both rough and elegant, and an excellent example of the artist’s preference to constantly question what jewelry means and can be. Walker lives and works in Wellington, New Zealand and has been a vibrant part of the contemporary jewelry scene for over thirty years. The artist has won prestigious awards in her field in New Zealand and abroad, and has works in numerous private and public collections all around the world.