artists

The imagery that Leslie Matthews references in her jewellery relates to anatomical structures as well as the flora and fauna that surround her; “I’m drawn to the imperfections, the diverging patterns of organic imagery, a constant reference point, the randomness naturally occurring, a reminder of the brilliance and the beauty and the decay of our surrounds.” Leslie predominantly works with sterling silver and bronze, using fabrication, metalsmithing and lost wax casting techniques in the creation of her pieces. More recently, she has been using unglazed porcelain, lightly carving into the surface to create textures which reference the coastal dunescape of South Australia.  In her sterling silver works she embosses the surface with delicate woven cloths, “capturing a symbolic trace of the ephemeral fabric of the everyday”.  The soft white finish on the silver is achieved through brushing pumice powder, which both contrasts and compliments the deep blue black on the oxidised pieces.

Leslie holds a Bachelor of Design (Jewellery and Metalsmithing) and a Master of Visual Arts (Research) from the University of South Australia. She has been a practicing contemporary jeweller and object maker for 25 years and has exhibited regularly in group and solo shows, locally, nationally and internationally.

 

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