Kath Inglis, A lei from the welcome mat, 2017, faceted segments hand cut from used thongs, silk thread, sterling silver + patina, 45 x 65 x 6cm. Photo Kath Inglis

Exploring contemporary jewellery as a gesture of greeting.

ARTSTS: Liv Boyle, Michelle Cangiano, Jess Dare, Anna Davern, Nicky Hepburn, Kath Inglis, Manon van Kouswijk, Sim Luttin, Vicki Mason, Belinda Newick, Lauren Simeoni, Melinda Young

CURATOR: Belinda Newick

Inspired by welcome neck garlands, or leis, found in many traditional island cultures, these Australian jewellers have each made a neckpiece interpreting the theme of welcome and in response to current Australian immigration and refugee policies.

Using a diversity of materials – including but not limited to seaweed, paper, an Australia flag, shells, metal, clay, used thongs – the exhibition highlights the insights and intrinsic material specificity that each artist brings to the making process, informed by years of tacit knowledge and technical mastery.

These artists position adornment as a vehicle for political discourse, empathy and shared humanity.

Many of the garlands express ideas that address how current immigration policies misrepresent the humanist values of welcome and acceptance that continue to be expressed in popular rhetoric of Australian values. The artists use the narrative potential of each distinct garland to encapsulate a complex visual language and to express the emotions felt by the maker during the process.

Via this gentle activist enactment, the artists present their gestures of welcome, thereby contributing to the topic's political, social, and cultural currency.

The regional South Australian tour of Island Welcome is presented by Country Arts SA and curated by Belinda Newick.