Twenty-first century pearls: the culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects

This practice-led research project investigates the industry methods around Australian South Sea pearls and the Pinctada maxima (pearl shell) in the context of a studio-based contemporary jewellery practice. This project will look closely at how Australia’s northwest pearling industries operate and at the pearling history of Broome. My research utilises material-based experimentation in the jewellery studio to find new ways to represent pearls and shells by exploring the surfaces and forms. The material experimentation explores the assembly of manmade materials and industrial processes. The initial studies are informed by bibliographical research about the history of the pearl and its presence in jewellery. Travel to Broome in Western Australia provides opportunities to closely observe the methods used in the cultivating, harvesting, and grading of cultured Australian South Sea pearls. The fieldwork at pearl farms in Australia reveals the industry methods used in pearl cultivation; these processes provide new insights that go beyond the traditional representation of the pearl as an isolated jewel or singular strand. Drawing on imagery and experiences from conducted fieldwork, my studio-based artworks are developed through drawing, model making, and material experimentation. I utilise heuristic making processes that allow for trial and error. The jewellery objects use materials sourced for the visual qualities of synthetic, luminous iridescence that can be used within contemporary industrial processes, such as vacuum forming and 3D printing. The project seeks to explore the notion of what Australian pearl jewellery could become in the twenty-first century. It uses the changing role of jewellery to think through the representation of pearls and their shells.