Ice Draw

<p dir="ltr">Background: This research is situated in the field of metalsmithing and enamelling and this artwork has been developed to question how decorative art objects can focus on highlight the preciousness of environment and the future of climate change. The draw has been used in contemporary art to highlight and represent the concept of the archive and history. Philosophers such as Gaston Bachelard and Maurice Mearleau-Ponty allow us to consider that a drawer is both symbolic and embodied and that the draw represents more than its physical function but that it is a space for embodied discovery and narrative. </p><p dir="ltr">Contribution: Following on from her doctoral study that had explored micromosaic jewellery forms Haydon looked at the Micromosaic objects in the Gilbert Collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum during the Australia Council for the arts studio residency in London in 2015. The objects in the collection where not only small jewellery pieces but there where examples of micromosaic tables and furniture. “Ice Draw” responds to these objects created for the Grand Tour by depict a pristine ice landscapes and glacier and the concept of archive and preservation. The work is constructed from microwelded and layered perforated heat blackened steel containers. Each container has been methodically etched with small hand drawn crosses, marking time and measurement. The drawer fronts are enamelled with an image of the Barne Glacier under a layer of glass microspheres referencing the micromosaic objects of the Grand Tour. Heike Zech, the former curator of the Rosalinde and Authur Gilbert Collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum included the following description of Haydon’s research, “Her Micromosaics reference the size and shape of the Italian Grand Tour plaques devised by Raffaelli’s generation but take us to an entirely different world - using photographs taken during a fellowship she prints enamels onto which she fuses dots of colourless glass. The effect is a delicate surface that evokes both the grid off the early micromosaic backgrounds and the miraculous form of snow crystals. Her work allows the viewer to cradle and mirage-like vision of Antarctica, a tangible reminder of the fragility of its ecosystem. Micromosaics are by no means an artform locked in the past. Both their materiality and the themes they address continue to evolve as expressions of the world”. Heike Zech, Highlights from the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection, V&A Publishing London, 2019 </p><p dir="ltr">Significance: Established in 2022 as the inaugural Robert Foster F!NK national metal prize. This new prize and exhibition is the only exhibition in Australia to exhibit predominately silversmithing. Craft ACT brings together silversmiths and metal artists currently working around Australia. The award presents outstanding work in the field of contemporary metal working by designers and craftspeople - both established and emerging. In recognition of the value of high-quality craft making skills, good design and innovation. Ice Draw is one of 10 works selected and the exhibition took place as part of the DESIGN Canberra festival. The works were selected by a jury including Brian Parkes, Chief Executive Officer, Jam Factory Adelaide, Ewan McEoin, Senior Curator of Contemporary Design and Architecture at National Gallery of Victoria, Rohan Nicol, Associate Head of School, Creative Arts and Media, Associate Professor of Fine Art, University of Tasmania and Gretel Harrison, Director F!NK + Co.</p>