Jemma Slade
Graduating from Central St Martins in 2008, I worked for luxury jewellery brand Solange Azagury-Partridge for a number of years, before returning home to Wales to teach secondary Art & Design, start a family, and develop a bespoke jewellery business of my own. After working in traditional fine materials as a bespoke goldsmith for almost a decade, I desired an injection of new energy. Now, fuelled by a recent MA in Jewellery & Metal at the RCA, my practice is currently primarily focusing on the exploration and communication of my own personal Matrescence.
I am fascinated by the connections formed and held between humans and our environment. How memories are held and developed within and between the two. How they move fom one living entity to another, morphing with time, yet retaining integrity of the source. My practice is focused on creating pieces that last, using materials that are sustainably and thoughtfully sourced, with full traceability, and careful consideration to both people and the land. ‘Horn’ is a collection of pieces created by combining recycled gold, ethically sourced gemstones and cow horn. This horn was sourced as a bi product of a cow whose meat fed an entire community. Some of the horn was carved by myself to create these pieces, the remaining horn was ground, together with other bi products (bones) and returned to the earth to fertilise the land. I grew up in rural Wales, surrounded by communities of smallholders that constantly strive to understand and exist peacefully with the land. It is a constant open conversation and cycle of energy and trust that sustains the relationship between humans and the soil that sustains us. It is wonderful, and beautiful, and deserves to be celebrated.
Project Gallery
