Master's thesis of Fine Arts: Twenty-first century pearls: the culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects

Twenty-first Century Pearls: The Culture of the Pearl in Jewellery and Objects

A project submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts

Katherine Hubble Bachelor of Arts (Fine Arts) RMIT University Bachelor of Arts (Fine Arts) (Honours) RMIT University

School of Art College of Design and Social Context RMIT University

December 2021

I

Declaration

I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, this research is that of the

author alone; the content of this research submission is the result of work which has been

carried out since the official commencement date of the approved research program; any

editorial work, paid or unpaid, carried out by a third party is acknowledged; and, ethics

procedures and guidelines have been followed.

In addition, I certify that this submission contains no material previously submitted for award of

any qualification at any other university or institution, unless approved for a joint-award with

another institution, and acknowledge that no part of this work will, in the future, be used in a

submission in my name, for any other qualification in any university or other tertiary institution

without the prior approval of the University, and where applicable, any partner institution

responsible for the joint-award of this degree.

I acknowledge that copyright of any published works contained within this thesis resides with

the copyright holder(s) of those works.

I give permission for the digital version of my research submission to be made available on the

web, via the University’s digital research repository, unless permission has been granted by the

University to restrict access for a period of time.

I acknowledge the support I have received for my research through the provision of an

Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.

Katherine Hubble 06 December 2021

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Acknowledgments

I acknowledge the Yawuru and the Bardi Jawi people who are the original custodians of the lands

where I conducted my fieldwork. I respectfully acknowledge their Ancestors and Elders, past and

present. I would also like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the Melbourne region, the Boon

Wurrung and Woiwurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands I work. I respectfully

acknowledge their Ancestors and Elders, past and present.

I would like to gratefully acknowledge and thank my supervisory team for their support, guidance, and

contribution to the research project — senior supervisor, Kirsten Haydon, and associate supervisor

Louise Weaver.

I would also like to thank the staff and technicians at RMIT, and my fellow student and friends:

Nicholas Bastin, Mark Edgoose, Sam Mertens, David Forrest, Faiza Rezai, Ingrid Maklary, Ceri Hann,

Andre Liew, Keely Macarow, Fleur Summers, Kirsten Sharp, Phil Edwards, Madeleine Thornton-

Smith, Lindy McSwan, Claire McArdle, Cara Johnson, Michaela Pegum, Elisa Zorraquin, Sue

Buchanan and Michelle Stewart.

Thanks to Dr Christina Houen of Perfect Words Editing, who has copy edited this thesis according to

the guidelines of the University and the Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd).

Thank you to the wonderful Krissi Van and Lulu for showing us around Broome, Western Australia,

and the staff and team at Willie Creek Pearl Farm and Cygnet Bay Pearls. Thank you to the Beagle

Bay community and the Ardyaloon community for welcoming us into your communities. Also, a thank

you to Wozzy and Bart Pigram for sharing your cultural knowledge and stories.

Many thanks to the photographers that worked with me to photograph my works, Fred Kroh, Janelle

Low, and Henry Trumble. Also, Yi-Jen Chu (Sandy) for wearing my work.

To my partner Mitchell thank you for your unwavering belief and emotional support throughout.

Lastly, a massive thank you to my mother Debi Hardie; without her constant support and

encouragement I wouldn’t have been able to achieve my artistic dreams. Thank you for your

dedication in assisting me within the fieldwork and exhibiting of this research project.

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Table of Contents

Declaration I

Acknowledgments II

Table of Contents III

List of Figures V

Abstract 1

Background 2

Research Questions 4

Aims and Objectives 4

1.0 INTRODUCTION 5

2.0 CULTURAL CONTEXT OF THE PEARL 8

2.1 PEARLING IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA 12

2.2 CULTIVATING TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY AUSTRALIAN SOUTH SEA PEARLS 15

3.0 COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE 22

3.1 CONTEMPORARY REINTERPRETATIONS OF PEARLS 23

3.2 USE OF SHELL IN JEWELLERY OBJECTS 27

3.3 CONCLUSION 31

4.0 METHODOLOGY 32

4.1 THE SHELL 32

4.2 FIELDWORK 33

4.3 PRACTICE-BASED / PRACTICE LED AND TACIT KNOWLEDGE 34

4.4 HEURISTIC 35

4.5 CONCLUSION 35

5.0 METHODS 36

5.1 JEWELLERY TECHNIQUES 36

IV

5.2 TECHNOLOGY AND INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES 37

6.0 MATERIALS 39

6.1 MATERIAL VALUE 39

6.2 COMMODITY PLASTICS 40

6.3 THE PEARL 41

6.4 SEASHELLS & MOTHER OF PEARL 42

6.5 COLOUR & IRIDESCENCE 43

6.7 CONCLUSION 46

7.0 FIELDWORK 47

8.0 IDEA DEVELOPMENT / EXPERIMENTATION 63

8.1 DRAWING BEFORE AND AFTER FIELDWORK 63

8.2 MATERIAL EXPERIMENTATION 70

8.3 CONCLUSION 79

9.0 CREATIVE WORK OUTCOMES 80

9.1 PRELIMINARY WORKS 80

9.2 IRIDESCENT PARASITE SERIES 87

9.3 PLASTIC LUSTRE BROOCH SERIES 93

9.4 HATCHERY STRAND SERIES 96

9.5 PEARL FARMER NET SERIES 99

9.6 PEARL TECHNICIAN SERIES 105

10.0 CONCLUSION 113

11.0 EXAMINATION EXHIBITION 116

Bibliography 125

Appendix A 129

Appendix B 131

V

List of Figures

Page number for figure appears in bold Figure 0.0: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-First Century Pearls: The Culture of the Pearl in Jewellery and Objects, Plastic Lustre Series, (2019-2022). Image Fred Kroh. See page XII. Figure 1.1: Katherine Hubble, Pearl Necklace 2016, polypropylene, acrylic, pearls, foil, nylon, thread, and silver, 300 x 200 x 60mm, Image. Image: Jeremy Dillion. See Page 3. Figure 2.1: Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus, 1485, tempera on canvas, 1725 x 2785mm, Galleria Degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy. See Page 9. Figure 2.2: The Pelican Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I by Nicholas Hilliard (1570s). (Landman, Mikkelsen, Bieler & Bronson, p.17) © Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. See Page 9. Figure 2.3: Katherine Hubble, 2018, Plastic & Pearl Ruff, polypropylene, freshwater pearls, nylon thread, 300 x 300 x 40mm. Image: Janelle Low. See Page 10. Figure 2.4: Katherine Hubble, 2018, Plastic & Pearl Ruff, polypropylene, freshwater pearls, nylon thread, 300 x 300 x 40mm. Image: Janelle Low. See Page 10. Figure 2.5: Giambattista Tiepolo, The banquet of Cleopatra, 1743 - 44, oil on canvas, 2503 x 3570mm, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. ©National Gallery Victoria, Melbourne. See Page 11. Figure 2.6: Pubic cover, (riji, jakuli or lonkalonka), La Grange, Kimberley region, Western Australia, pre 1940. MM A2009. (Edmundson & Boylan p.17). See Page 12. Figure 2.7: A modern pearl diving vessel is at sea off Broome, Australia. Photograph by Rüdiger Bieler. (Landman, Mikkelsen, Bieler & Bronson, p.167). See Page 14. Figure 2.8: Katherine Hubble, Processing of the algae in Willie Creek Pearl Farm’s hatchery, photographed at Willie Creek Pearl Farm, West Australia, 9 August 2019, 11am. See Page 16. Figure 2.9: Katherine Hubble, 2019-2021, Hatchery Strand Series, polypropylene, vinyl tint, 3D printed resin, elastic, acrylic push toggle, silver, 300 x 250 x 40 mm and 250 x 250 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 17.

Figure 2.10: ‘View in cross-section, each pearl shows a unique arrangement of layers that reflect changes in the physiology of the mollusk and the environment in which it lives’ (Landman, Mikkelsen, Bieler & Bronson, p.45). See Page 18.

Figure 2.11: Katherine Hubble, juvenile pearl oyster net, photographed at Willie Creek Pearl Farm, West Australia, 9 August 2019, 11am. See Page 19. Figure 2.12: Katherine Hubble, spat pearl oyster net, photographed at Willie Creek Pearl Farm, West Australia, 9 August 2019, 11am. See Page 19. Figure 2.13: Katherine Hubble, 2019-2020, Pearl Farmer Net #III, Ink on Arches watercolour paper 300gsm, 760 x 560mm. Image: Janelle Low. See Page 20.

Figure 3.1: Cheung, L 2017, Pearl Necklace- Graduated, carved freshwater pearls, reconditioned vintage case, gold. See Page 23. Figure 3.2: Lauren Kalman, Hood 2, 2014, https://artjewelryforum.org/lauren-kalman-but-if-the-crime-is-beautiful- %E2%80%A6-1. See Page 24.

Figure 3.3: Lisa Walker, Necklace, 2006. (Walker, p.115). See Page 25.

Figure 3.4: Manon van Kouswijk, Soap, 1995, Edition of 50, Glycerine soap, freshwater pearls, thread, each 80 x 55 x 25mm, photo by artist. (Skinner, p.53). See Page 26. Figure 3.5: Manon van Kouswijk, Re:model, 2003, glazed porcelain, thread, 340 x 150 x 45mm. See Page 26. Figure 3.6: Warwick, F 1995, Scallop blossom, scallop shell, gold, silver, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC. See Page 27.

Figure 3.7: Jiro Kamata, Mother 2018 https://www.jirokamata.com/item/240. See Page 28.

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Figure 3.8: Jiro Kamata, Mother 2018 https://www.jirokamata.com/item/240. See Page 28. Figure 3.9: Helen Britton Jewellery Life (Britton, pp. 56-57). See Page 29.

Figure 3.10: teunne (king maireener shell crown), 2013, king maireener shells, wire, diameter 250mm. (Greeno & Gough, pp.6-7). See Page 30.

Figure 5.1: Katherine Hubble, Jewellery bench and tools, 2021. See Page 36. Figure 5.2: Figure 5.2: Katherine Hubble, Digital rendering of fitting before printing, 2020. See Page 38. Figure 5.3: Katherine Hubble, 3D printed sections inside of resin cure machine, 2020. See Page 38. Figure 6.1: Katherine Hubble, Off cuts and tests of polypropylene, vinyl tint, vacuum formed, 2019. See Page 40. Figure 6.2: Katherine Hubble, 2019 - 2021, Plastic Lustre Brooch Series, polypropylene, vinyl tint, acrylic, silver, steel, dimensions variable. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 42.

Figure 6.3: Katherine Hubble, 2019, Juvenile Byssus, polypropylene, thermoforming plastic, vinyl tint, silver, freshwater pearls, 250 x 250 x 70mm. Photo: Henry Trumble. See Page 44. Figure 7.1: Katherine Hubble, Roebuck Bay, Broome, West Australia, 8 August 2019, 10am. See Page 48. Figure 7.2: Katherine Hubble, Gantheaume Point (Minyirr), Broome West Australia, 8 August 2019, 12pm. See Page 49.

Figure 7.3: Roebuck Bay, Broome, West Australia, 8 August 2019, 7pm. See Page 50.

Figure 7.4: P. maxima and silver keshi pearl, Willie Creek Pearl Farm, West Australia, 9 August 2019, 11am. See Page 51.

Figure 7.5: P. maxima housed in nets, Willie Creek Pearl Farm, West Australia, 9 August 2019, 11am. See Page 52. Figure 7.6: Willie Creek Pearl Farm taken from a helicopter, Willie Creek, West Australia, 9 August 2019, 1pm. See Page 53. Figure 7.7: Barred Creek taken from helicopter, Barred Creek, West Australia, 9 August 2019, 1pm. See Page 54. Figure 7.8: Barred Creek connecting beach, West Australia, 11 August 2019, 12pm. See Page 55. Figure 7.9: Barred Creek connecting beach, West Australia, 11 August 2019, 12pm. See Page 55.

Figure 7.10: Sacred Heart Church, Beagle Bay, West Australia, 12 August 2019, 11am. See Page 56. Figure 7.11: Trochus shell cutting and polishing at Ardyaloon Trochus Hatchery & Aquaculture Centre, One Arm Point, West Australia, 12 August 2019, 1pm. See Page 57.

Figure 7.12: Trochus shell at Ardyaloon Trochus Hatchery & Aquaculture Centre, One Arm Point, West Australia, 12 August 2019, 1pm. See Page 57. Figure 7.13: Kooljaman, Western Australia, 12 August 2019, 4pm. See Page 58. Figure 7.14: Sail Maker Shed, Broome Museum & Historical Society, Western Australia, 13 August 2019, 2pm. See Page 59. Figure 7.15: Roebuck Bay, Western Australia, 14 August 2019, 3pm. See Page 59. Figure 7.16: Trochus Shells, Reddell Beach, Western Australia, 14 August 2019, 6pm. See Page 60. Figure 7.17: Trochus Shells, Reddell Beach, Western Australia, 14 August 2019, 6pm. See Page 60. Figure 7.18: Katherine Hubble, Sunbathing Iridescent Parasite 2019, polypropylene, vinyl tint, nylon thread, freshwater pearls, 35 x 30 x 5 cm, photographed at Gantheaume Point 15 August 2019 2pm. See Page 61.

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Figure 7.19: Town Beach, Broome, Western Australia, 16 August 2019, 7pm. See Page 62. Figure 8.1: Katherine Hubble, Pearl Necklace Watercolour, 2018, work on paper, 290 x 430mm. See Page 63. Figure 8.2: Katherine Hubble, Watercolour shell study made prior to fieldwork, 2018, work on paper, 290 x 430mm. See Page 64. Figure 8.3: Katherine Hubble, small chainmail mesh study made prior to fieldwork, 2018, ink on paper, 290 x 430mm. See Page 65. Figure 8.4: Collected seashells and organic materials from Barred Creek, 11 August 2019, 5pm. See Page 66. Figure 8.5: Purchased seashells from Western Australia, arranged into size order akin to a pearl necklace. See Page 66. Figure 8.6: Katherine Hubble, Shell Study 2019, pencil, and watercolour, 150gsm paper, Shell Study Journal p.9, 210 x 265mm. See Page 67. Figure 8.7: Katherine Hubble, Shell Study 2019, pencil, watercolour, 150gsm paper, Shell Study Journal p.5, 210 x 265mm. See Page 67. Figure 8.8: Katherine Hubble, Shell Study 2019, pencil, watercolour, 150gsm paper, Shell Study Journal p. 17, 210 x 265mm. See Page 68. Figure 8.9: Katherine Hubble, Shell Study 2020, Archival ink, 150gsm paper, Shell Study Journal p.61, 210 x 265mm. See Page 68. Figure 8.10: Katherine Hubble, Shell Study 2019, Archival Ink, 150gsm paper, Shell Study Journal p.5, 210 x 265mm. See Page 69. Figure 8.11: Katherine Hubble, Shell Study 2019, Archival Ink, 150gsm paper, Shell Study Journal p.3, 210 x 265mm. See Page 69.

Figure 8.12: Silicon mould, Roebuck Bay, West Australia, 15 August 2019, 12pm. See Page 71. Figure 8.13: Katherine Hubble, Test 1, 2018. See Page 72. Figure 8.14: Katherine Hubble, Test 2, 2018. See Page 72. Figure 8.15: Katherine Hubble, Test 3, 2018. See Page 73. Figure 8.16: Katherine Hubble, Test 3, 2018. See Page 73. Figure 8.17: Katherine Hubble, Test 4, 2018. See Page 73. Figure 8.18: Katherine Hubble, Test 5, 2018. See Page 73. Figure 8.19: Katherine Hubble, Test 6, 2018. See Page 73. Figure 8.20: Katherine Hubble, Test 7, 2018. See Page 74. Figure 8.21: Katherine Hubble, Test 8, 2018. See Page 74. Figure 8.22: Katherine Hubble, Test 9, 2018. See Page 74. Figure 8.23: Katherine Hubble, Test 10, 2018. See Page 74. Figure 8.24: Katherine Hubble, Test 11, 2018. See Page 74. Figure 8.25: Katherine Hubble, Test 12, 2018. See Page 75. Figure 8.26: Katherine Hubble, Test 13, 2018. See Page 75. Figure 8.27: Katherine Hubble, Test 14, 2018. See Page 75. Figure 8.28: Katherine Hubble, Test 15, 2019. See Page 75.

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Figure 8.29: Katherine Hubble, Test 16, 2019. See Page 75. Figure 8.30: Katherine Hubble, Test 17, 2019. See Page 76. Figure 8.31: Katherine Hubble, Test 18, 2019. See Page 76. Figure 8.32: Katherine Hubble, Test 19, 2019. See Page 76. Figure 8.33: Katherine Hubble, Test 20, 2019. See Page 76. Figure 8.34: Katherine Hubble, Test 21, 2019. See Page 76. Figure 8.35: Katherine Hubble, Test 22, 2019. See Page 77. Figure 8.36: Katherine Hubble, Test 23, 2019. See Page 77. Figure 8.37: Katherine Hubble, Test 24, 2019. See Page 77. Figure 8.38: Katherine Hubble, Test 25, 2019. See Page 77. Figure 8.39: Katherine Hubble, Test 26, 2020. See Page 77. Figure 8.40: Katherine Hubble, Test 27, 2020. See Page 78. Figure 8.41: Katherine Hubble, Test 28, 2020. See Page 78. Figure 8.42: Katherine Hubble, Test 29, 2020. See Page 78. Figure 8.43: Katherine Hubble, Test 30, 2020. See Page 78. Figure 8.44: Katherine Hubble, Test 31, 2020. See Page 78. Figure 8.45: Katherine Hubble, Test 32, 2020. See Page 79. Figure 8.46: Katherine Hubble, Test 33, 2020. See Page 79. Figure 9.1: Katherine Hubble, 2018, Glam Clam Earrings, fine silver, enamel, lustre, glass, Australian south sea pearls, 60 x 30 x 30 mm each. See Page 80. Figure 9.2: Katherine Hubble, 2018, Shell Cluster Brooch Series, epoxy resin, silicon, copper, silver, pearls, foil, glitter, pigment, steel, rose gold, 150 x 200 x 40mm. See Page 81. Figure 9.3: Katherine Hubble, 2018, Plastic & Pearl Ruff, polypropylene, freshwater pearls, nylon thread, 300 x 300 x 40mm Image: Janelle Low. See Page 82.

Figure 9.4: Katherine Hubble & Madeleine Thornton-Smith, 2019, Synthetic Nacre, ceramic, glaze, silver, polypropylene, vinyl tint, 250 x 250 x 50mm. Image: Janelle Low. See Page 83. Figure 9.5: Katherine Hubble & Madeleine Thornton-Smith, 2019, Synthetic Nacre, ceramic, glaze, silver, polypropylene, vinyl tint, 250 x 250 x 50mm. Image: Janelle Low. See Page 83.

Figure 9.6: Katherine Hubble, 2019, Juvenile Byssus, polypropylene, vinyl tint, freshwater pearls, silver, 250 x 250 x 50mm. Image: Janelle Low. See Page 85.

Figure 9.7: Katherine Hubble, 2019, Juvenile Byssus (detail), polypropylene, vinyl tint, freshwater pearls, silver, 250 x 250 x 50mm. Image: Janelle Low. See Page 85. Figure 9.8: Katherine Hubble, 2019 - 2021, Iridescent Parasite Series, polypropylene, vinyl tint, freshwater pearls, nylon thread, 350 x 300 x 40mm each. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 87. Figure 9.9: Katherine Hubble, 2019, Iridescent Parasite #I, polypropylene, vinyl tint, freshwater pearls, nylon thread, 350 x 300 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 87. Figure 9.10: Katherine Hubble, 2020, Iridescent Parasite #II, Polypropylene, vinyl tint, freshwater pearls, nylon thread, 350 x 300 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 88.

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Figure 9.11: Katherine Hubble, 2021, Iridescent Parasite #III, Polypropylene, vinyl tint, freshwater pearls, nylon thread, 350 x 300 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 88.

Figure 9.12: Katherine Hubble, 2019, Iridescent Parasite #I, polypropylene, vinyl tint, freshwater pearls, nylon thread, 350 x 300 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 89. Figure 9.13: Katherine Hubble, 2020, Iridescent Parasite #II, polypropylene, vinyl tint, freshwater pearls, nylon thread, 350 x 300 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 90. Figure 9.14: Katherine Hubble, 2021, Iridescent Parasite #III, polypropylene, vinyl tint, freshwater pearls, nylon thread, 350 x 300 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 91. Figure 9.15: Katherine Hubble, 2019 - 2021, Plastic Lustre Brooch #1, #2, #3, polypropylene, vinyl tint, acrylic, silver, steel, dimensions variable. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 93. Figure 9.16: Katherine Hubble, 2019, Plastic Lustre Brooch #4, polypropylene, vinyl tint, acrylic, silver, steel, 80 x 60 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 93.

Figure 9.17: Katherine Hubble, 2019, Plastic Lustre Brooch #5, polypropylene, vinyl tint, acrylic, silver, steel, 60 x 50 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 94.

Figure 9.18: Katherine Hubble, 2019, Plastic Lustre Brooch #6, polypropylene, vinyl tint, acrylic, silver, steel, 70 x 50 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 94. Figure 9.19: Katherine Hubble, 2019, Plastic Lustre Brooch #7, polypropylene, vinyl tint, acrylic, silver, steel, 70 x 60 x 50mm. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 95. Figure 9.20: Katherine Hubble, Hatchery Strand #I, Necklace 2019, polypropylene, vinyl tint, 3D print resin, elastic, acrylic push toggle, 300 x 250 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 96. Figure 9.21: Katherine Hubble, Hatchery Strand #II, Necklace 2019, polypropylene, vinyl tint, 3D print resin, elastic, acrylic push toggle, 300 x 250 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 96. Figure 9.22: Hatchery Strand #III, Necklace 2020, polypropylene, vinyl tint, 3D print resin, elastic, acrylic push toggle, 250 x 200 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 97. Figure 9.23: Katherine Hubble, 2019 – 2020, Pearl Farmer Net #I, Ink on Arches watercolour paper 300 gsm, 760 x 560mm. Image: Janelle Low. See Page 99. Figure 9.24: Katherine Hubble, 2019-2020, Pearl Farmer Net #II, Ink on Arches watercolour paper 300 gsm, 760 x 560mm. Image: Janelle Low. See Page 100.

Figure 9.25: Katherine Hubble, 2019-2020, Pearl Farmer Net #IV, Ink on Arches watercolour paper 300 gsm, 760 x 560mm. Image: Janelle Low. See Page 101. Figure 9.26: Katherine Hubble, 2019-2020, Pearl Farmer Net #V, Ink on Arches watercolour paper 300 gsm, 760 x 560mm. Image: Janelle Low. See Page 102.

Figure 9.27: Katherine Hubble, 2019-2020, Pearl Farmer Net #VI, Ink on Arches watercolour paper 300 gsm, 760 x 560mm. Image: Janelle Low. See Page 103.

Figure 9.28: Pearl Technician Series, 2021, polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, silver, gold, nylon thread, dimensions variable. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 105.

Figure 9.29: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Pearl Technician #IV (Princess) & #V (Choker), polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, silver, nylon thread. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 105.

Figure 9.30: Pearl Technician #I (Rope), 2021, polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, silver, nylon thread. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 106.

Figure 9.31: Pearl Technician #I (Rope), 2021, polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, silver, nylon thread, (detail). Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 106. Figure 9.32: Katherine Hubble, 2021, Pearl Technician #I (Rope), polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, silver, nylon thread, (detail). Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 107.

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Figure 9.33: Pearl Technician #II (Opera), 2021, polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, silver, nylon thread. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 108.

Figure 9.34: Pearl Technician #II (Opera), 2021, polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, silver, nylon thread, (detail). Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 108.

Figure 9.35: Katherine Hubble, 2021, Pearl Technician #I (Rope) & #III (Matinee), polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, gold, nylon thread. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 109. Figure 9.36: Pearl Technician #III (Matinee), 2021, polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, gold, nylon thread. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 110. Figure 9.37: Pearl Technician #III (Matinee), 2021, polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, gold, nylon thread, (detail). Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 110. Figure 9.38: Katherine Hubble, 2021, Pearl Technician #III (Matinee), polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, gold, nylon thread. Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 111.

Figure 11.1: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects. Image by Fred Kroh. See Page 116. Figure 11.2: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects, Plastic Lustre (2019-2022) series and Pearl Farmer Net (2019-2021) series. Image by Fred Kroh. See Page 117. Figure 11.3: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects. Image by Fred Kroh. See Page 117. Figure 11.4: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects, printed images of Juvenile Byssus, (2019) and Iridescent Parasite, (2019). Image by Fred Kroh. See Page 118. Figure 11.5: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects. Image by Fred Kroh. See Page 118. Figure 11.6: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects, Hatchery Strand series (2019-2020). Image by Fred Kroh. See Page 119. Figure 11.7: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects, Plastic Lustre series (2019-2022). Image by Fred Kroh. See Page 119. Figure 11.8: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects, Pearl Farmer Net (2019-2021) series. Image by Fred Kroh. See Page 120. Figure 11.9: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects, Pearl Farmer Net (2019-2021) series. Image by Fred Kroh. See Page 120. Figure 11.10: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects. Image by Fred Kroh. See Page 121. Figure 11.11: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects. Image by Fred Kroh. See Page 121. Figure 11.12: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects. Image by Fred Kroh. See Page 122. Figure 11.13: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects. Image by Fred Kroh. See Page 122. Figure 11.14: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects, Pearl Technician series (2021-2022). Image by Fred Kroh. See Page 123. Figure 11.15: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects, Iridescent Parasite series (2019-2022). Image by Fred Kroh. See Page 123. Figure 11.16: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects. Image by Fred Kroh. See Page 124.

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Figure 11.17: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects, Printed images of Iridescent Parasite (2019) and Pearl Technician (2021). Image by Fred Kroh. See Page 124. Figure 12.1: Printed invitation, Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls, Brunswick St Gallery. Image: https://www.brunswickstreetgallery.com.au/past#/twentyfirst-century-pearls-katherine-hubble/. See Page 131. Figure 12.2: Installation shot, Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls, Brunswick St Gallery. Image: Brunswick St Gallery, https://www.brunswickstreetgallery.com.au/past#/twentyfirst-century-pearls-katherine- hubble/. See Page 132. Figure 12.3: Installation shot, Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls, Brunswick St Gallery. Image: Brunswick St Gallery, https://www.brunswickstreetgallery.com.au/past#/twentyfirst-century-pearls-katherine- hubble/. See Page 132. Figure 12.4: 2022 ‘The 2021 Victorian Craft Awards’, Craft, Melbourne. Image: Henry Trumble. See Page 133. Figure 12.5: 2022 ‘The 2021 Victorian Craft Awards’, Craft, Melbourne. Image: Annika Kafcaloudis. See Page 134. Figure 12.6: 2022 ‘The 2021 Victorian Craft Awards’, Craft, Melbourne. Image: Annika Kafcaloudis. See Page 134. Figure 12.7: Screen shot taken 24th May 2022, https://craft.org.au/whats-on/2021-craft-contemporary/. See Page 135. Figure 12.7 & 12.8: photos taken around Melbourne, Images: Eliza Tiernan, https://craft.org.au/whats-on/all- events/craft-contemporary-poster-walk/. See Page 135. Figure 12.9: Screen shot taken 24th May 2022, https://www.radiantpavilion.com.au/listing/twenty-first-century- pearls/. See Page 136. Figure 12.10 Printed invitation, Madeleine Thornton-Smith and Katherine Hubble, 2019, Adorned, Alternating Current Art Space, Image and text by: Madeleine Thornton-Smith. See Page 137. Figure 12.11: Printed invitation, 2019, Master Makers, RMIT Gallery. See Page 138. Figure 12.12: Katherine Hubble, 2016, Plastic Opal, thermoforming plastic, thread and polypropylene, Image: Fred Kroh. See Page 138. Figure 12.13: Printed invitation, 2019, perceiving Practice, First Site Gallery, Radiant Pavilion, Image, and text: Elisa Zorraquin. See Page 139. Figure 12.14: Artistar Jewels, 2019, catalogue pages, Katherine Hubble, Images by Artistar Jewels. See Page 140.

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Figure 0.0: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-First Century Pearls: The Culture of the Pearl in Jewellery and Objects, Plastic Lustre Series, (2019-2022). Image Fred Kroh.

1

Abstract

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 man-made 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.

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Background

The background of my practice comes from studio jewellery training in gold and silversmithing

techniques and processes that also dictated the restrictive use of materials. The jewellery design

training that I had was based around the use of precious metals and gemstones. Following this trade-

skilled knowledge, I went on to study a four-year Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours. The major

project I focused on in the third year of my bachelor’s degree and the honours year is where I began

working with and exploring contemporary plastic materials and pearls.

My fascination with the pearl first began when investigating femininity and identity through jewellery

and how pearls have been transformed into a symbol of wealth, power, and femininity throughout

Western culture. Within my practice, I look at the history of the pearl and its use for adorning the

female body and how I can reimagine this archetype within the twenty-first century. In my honours

research project, from 2017, I saw many links between pearls, the female body and identity. I was

investigating how pearls and the colour pink are used as symbols of femininity and how, through

jewellery, these ideals can be manifested.

Pearl Necklace was made in 2016 from polypropylene, nylon, acrylic, freshwater pearls, nylon thread,

foil paper and silver. This was the first time I began working with the process of vacuum forming and

contemporary plastic materials. This research project led to more questions about where pearls come

from, what exactly a pearl is, and how the only gem formed by a living organism became associated

with femininity.

The body of work created for my Bachelor of Arts (Fine Arts) (Honours) explored the cultural

representation of femininity through jewellery. This was informed by queer and feminist philosopher

Judith Butler’s theory of performed gender in Gender Trouble, 1990. Butler believes that gender in

reference to masculinity and femininity are socially constructed ideals performed through acts of

gesture and enactments (Butler, 1990). Femininity will not be the central focus of this research. In this

project I will be looking at the history and culture of the pearl and considering the future of pearl jewellery.

3

Figure 1.1: Katherine Hubble, Pearl Necklace, 2016, polypropylene, acrylic, pearls, foil, nylon, thread, and silver, 300 x 200 x 60mm. Image: Jeremy Dillion.

4

Research Questions

How can I create artworks that reference the collection and cultivation methods used in the

commercial pearling industry?

How can new technologies and synthetic materials be used to reimagine the pearl within the twenty-

first century?

Aims and Objectives

Aim:

● To re-contextualise the role of the pearl and shells with their uses in wearable jewellery by

examining them in a contemporary setting.

Objectives:

● To visit the Australian pearling industry to observe the ways in which modern pearl farms

cultivate and harvest pearls.

● To create a series of contemporary jewellery objects that reinterpret the role of traditional

pearl jewellery, using new technologies and simulacrum materials of nacre.

● To represent the nature of the pearl through the combination of contemporary plastic materials and processes with studio jewellery techniques and traditional motifs.

5

1.0 INTRODUCTION

A strand of pearls is arguably one of the most traditional jewellery forms, as pearls are one of the

oldest gemstones known to humankind. As a young woman, I saw pearl jewellery as a stereotype of

femininity. I saw it as a conservative jewellery form to be worn with a twinset and cardigan. It always

seemed to represent the woman my mother wanted me to become. Rejecting this notion of who or

what femininity is, the pearl and the use of pearls in jewellery wasn’t something I had considered until

now. In the past decade, pearls and their shells are having a resurgence in popularity, with new forms

of jewellery emerging, and a shift in preference from perfectly round white pearls strung together to

pearls with unique shapes and colours. Jewellers are finding new ways of reinterpreting this traditional

gem, questioning its commercial value, social function, and cultural status.

The P. maxima is the largest pearl-producing mollusc in the world. It is found off the shores of

Australia's northwest coastline. The town of Broome has a rich pearling history because of this shell

species. Collected for its large size and lustrous quality, the shell was originally collected for mother of

pearl buttons. Today, the P. maxima is collected in the juvenile stage by pearl divers and used for

breeding and cultivating Australian South Sea pearls. These pearls are graded as the highest quality

of cultured pearls in the world, due to their size, lustre, colour, shape, and surface quality. The pristine

and remote environment where these pearls are farmed is critical to the pearling industries operating

within these waters.

There follows a brief history of pearling in Western Australia, and the European discovery of the

largest pearl oyster species on the planet, the P. maxima. The European discovery of pearl beds in

Australia, around the coast of Shark Bay, is attributed to Willian Dampier. The town of Broome grew

to become the pearling capital of the world by 1910. The history of pearling within Broome is a dark

story of blackbirding and the use of indentured workers. Before my fieldwork in the northwest, I

researched the history of the pearling industry within Broome from its beginnings until today’s

operations. Today, the Australian South Sea pearl is renowned for being the largest, highest quality

pearl on the world market.

In the cultural history of the pearl, from a western European perspective, the pearl is a symbol of

purity and femininity, and the perfect strand of pearls is a jewellery archetype. I thought of a strand of

pearls as a piece of jewellery worn by women who symbolised what femininity looked and behaved

like. How has the only gem created by a living organism become a symbol that is universally

recognised as belonging to femininity? The pearl’s history is filled with feminine symbolism and

associated with divinity. I began looking at the pearl’s history for answers; how did it attract this

stereotype? Is there another way pearls could be used to represent a different story?

My research project is situated within the discipline of art jewellery, reimagining pearl jewellery in the

twenty-first century. Art jewellery is known around the world as contemporary jewellery and studio

jewellery. It is a fine art discipline that is relatively new; the traditional making of jewellery, known as

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gold- and silversmithing, was categorised under the applied arts because of its association with bodily

adornment (den Besten, 2011).

My research into a community of practice looks at other art jewellers who question, challenge,

reimagine, and champion the two traditional jewellery forms of pearl necklaces and shell jewellery. Lin

Cheung, Caroline Denter, Lisa Walker, and Lauren Kalman have all used pearls within their artistic

practice. I also looked closely at works by Helen Britton, Lola Greeno, Jiro Kamata, and Warwick

Freeman for their use of shell as a material and for the inspirational use of it as a motif within craft

throughout human history. The creative jewellery component of this thesis does not use shell as a

material within the research outcomes but as an inspiration of form.

The methodology for this practice-based research project is rooted in Gaston Bachelard’s theory of

the shell and its phenomenology. Bachelard speaks of the natural phenomenon of the shell and how,

through certain craft materials, the shell’s lustrous qualities can be replicated. The intention of the

fieldwork, conducted at Broome, Western Australia, was to see Australia’s pearling industries first-

hand and to collect organic materials to be used in processes back in the studio. In the studio,

practice-based research is conducted through tacit knowledge and heuristic making methods.

Material samples and tests are the initial research enquiry into material manipulation. Through the

combination of contemporary plastic materials and industrial processes, with my goldsmithing

knowledge, I explored new ways of reimagining pearl jewellery.

The heuristic making methods behind my research rely on my previous training in gold and

silversmithing techniques and skilled processes. This research project explores how the use of

contemporary plastic materials and industrial processes used in mass production can be implemented

through a jewellery lens to create new jewellery forms that take their place in a rich history of craft

techniques. The methods and techniques used throughout my research are supported and dictated by

the material choices.

This research project explores twenty-first century contemporary ways of making through 3D printing

and vacuum forming in combination with a range of chosen plastic materials. These processes,

however, do dictate the materials that are used. My aim was to use organic materials and investigate

materials that replicated the natural iridescent effect of nacre. Not one material alone was able to

achieve the final optical illusion of luminescent wonderment, but by layering certain materials that

have been used with vacuum forming, the combination of materials and processes creates the

simulacrum of nacre.

The European discovery of Australia’s pearl oyster, the P. maxima, led to the Australian South Sea

pearl industry operating today. The town of Broome in Western Australia is rich with Australia’s

pearling history and today is largely a tourist destination. The fieldwork undertaken for this research

project enabled the ethical collection of organic materials for further study and material exploration to

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be conducted in the gold and silversmithing studios. The fieldwork was also crucial to gathering

knowledge of the history and current practices of Australia’s pearling industries.

Upon returning from the northwest, I continued with material experimentation in the specialised gold-

and silversmithing studio. The studio exploration included drawing, material testing and use of

samples to closely study the collected seashells and organic material. Through watercolour and line

drawings, I investigated each shell's texture, shape, form, and colour qualities; these drawings

resulted in a shell journal. The shells were then used as a base form in the industrial process of

vacuum forming. I experimented with many materials and process samples and tests to inform the

final works. This practice-based research relies heavily on this heuristic way of making and

discovering material knowledge or tacit knowledge to create the final creative outcomes.

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2.0 CULTURAL CONTEXT OF THE PEARL

‘Pearls have always exercised an almost magical power over the feminine world; a power that is not

attributed to their beauty alone’ (Lanfanconi, 2006, p.11).

The pearl is one of humankind’s oldest gemstones that is formed by a living organism and has no

need of further enhancement by the human hand. Unlike other gemstones, cutting or polishing is not

needed to reveal its natural lustre and sheen. Its first discovery by a prehistoric human could have

been met with natural wonderment or pain, as being found biting down on one in a natural food

source might not have been pleasant. In this chapter, I will discuss how the pearl is associated with

femininity in western culture.

As one of the earliest gemstones discovered, many myths and theories of the pearl’s creation have

developed throughout cultural history. Many historical beliefs link pearls and their alluring beauty to

the divine. Found in fresh or saltwater, each mollusc's mythology connects the pearl to a process of

divine creation involving water and light. These two elements of nature are evident in the visual

qualities of a pearl; it was believed that its mysterious rainbow-coloured, iridescent lustre could only

have been formed by divine intervention. How did the pearl come to be a symbol of femininity in

contemporary Western culture?

In ancient Greek mythology, the pearl was attributed to the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite,

also known as Venus to the Romans. The goddess was born from sea spray and as she left the

ocean, she shook droplets of water from her; as they fell back into the ocean they hardened into

pearls. The goddess was known for bringing joy and sensuality with her wherever she went and was

bathed in radiant light. The pearl, also born out of the sea, adopted the goddess’s characteristics of

seductiveness and beauty (Joyce & Addison, 1993). This early association with the female goddess in

Western culture has greatly influenced the pearl’s connection to femininity.

Another ancient tale of the creation of pearls is that they are tears of the gods that have fallen into the

ocean. Pearls also became closely associated with the moon, due to their luminous visual quality, but

also to the moon’s close tie to the ocean and its tides. The ocean tides are extremely important, as

the P. maxima is a filter feeder. Pearl farmer, James Brown, stated in a jewellery magazine online

article in 2020 (Roden, 2020): ‘Timing is everything when it comes to spawning oysters; similar to

coral, the moon and the seasons must align, and February and March full moons are the optimum

times of the year’.

As well as the pearl formation’s scientific connection with the phases of the moon, the moon has

symbolic associations with femininity. ‘The ancient Chinese believed that these ‘jewels from the sea’

grew by the power of moonlight’ (Lanfanconi, 2006, p.12).

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Figure 2.1: Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus, 1485, tempera on canvas, 1725 x 2785mm, Galleria Degli Uffizi,

Florence, Italy.

Sandro Botticelli famously depicted this legend in his painting The Birth of Venus, 1485. With artistic

licence, Botticelli changed the sea spray to a clam shell, with the goddess being born from a shell in

the same way as a pearl. Venus stands poised on a boat-like shell, depicting the myth of the goddess

and the pearl’s shared creation, and suggesting that the pearl, like the goddess, symbolises beauty

and sensuality. Here, the goddess is the pearl being birthed from a clamshell, which represents the

Figure 2.2: The Pelican Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I by Nicholas Hilliard (1570s). (Landman, Mikkelsen, Bieler & Bronson, p. 17) © Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

natural form giving life.

Historic portrait painting has played a large role in our cultural understanding of pearl jewellery.

Paintings commissioned by royalty to display status and standing often showed the sitter wearing

pearls. Prior to pearl cultivation, pearls were extremely rare and valuable (Lanfranconi, 2006). Queen

Elizabeth the First (1533-1603), was abundant in her use of pearls, and the portraits show how

favoured pearls in courtly circles. During her reign, which spanned from 1558 to 1603, pearls enriched

her gowns, wigs, crown, and jewellery, as recorded in the many portraits painted during her forty-five-

year reign. The exuberant use of this gem symbolised her wealth and power and, importantly, the

connections that were made to the Virgin Mary, emphasising her ‘Virgin Queen’ status.

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Figure 2.3: Katherine Hubble, 2018, Plastic & Pearl Ruff, polypropylene, freshwater pearls, nylon thread, 300 x

300 x 40mm. Image: Janelle Low.

Figure 2.4: Katherine Hubble, 2018, Plastic & Pearl Ruff, polypropylene, freshwater pearls, nylon thread, 300 x

300 x 40mm. Image: Janelle Low.

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Plastic & Pearl Ruff (2018) (Figure 2.4) is an early work that explores the way pearls were

incorporated into Queen Elizabeth’s clothing and adorned her body. By the late 16th century,

Elizabethan ruff collars were extremely elaborate, and like the pearl, became a symbol of wealth and

power worn by both men and women. They are constructed by singular threads and are time-

consuming to make. I wanted to echo this intensive labour quality in Plastic & Pearl Ruff (2018); each

piece was hand cut, pierced, and threaded together in an interchanging repeated pattern. This initial

work helped me to reimagine a classical historical use of pearls and the long tradition of pearls in

body adornment. So began my enquiry into the use of plastic in my jewellery pieces; here it replaces

the natural fabrics that were originally used to make a ruff. This shift from natural material to synthetic

materials is a feature of clothing today. More commonly than not, clothing of the twenty-first century is

a blend of natural and synthetic fibres. The polypropylene material made me aware of the non-

preciousness of plastic and how, through the medium of jewellery, I may be able to change its low

Figure 2.5: Giambattista Tiepolo, The banquet of Cleopatra, 1743-44, oil on canvas, 2503 x 3570mm, National

Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. © National Gallery Victoria, Melbourne.

valuation as a material.

In The Banquet of Cleopatra 1743-1744, Giambattista Tiepolo depicts the moment Cleopatra is about

to dissolve a pearl in vinegar and consume the liquid in the final moments of the banquet. In doing so,

she surpasses Mark Antony by hosting the most lavish, expensive, and opulent banquet humanly

possible. This famous contest is described in Roman historian Pliny’s Natural History written in AD 77.

The act of removing her pearl earring and consuming the pearl within vinegar demonstrated her

wealth and extravagance. Cleopatra's pearl earrings were allegedly the most expensive pearls of the

time (Gott, 2003).

Art historian and author Claudia Lanfranconi states in her publication Girls in Pearls that ‘For

centuries no one could explain how such an unremarkable creature such as the oyster could produce

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such a perfectly formed jewel, and as a result, the origin of the pearl became shrouded in myth and

legend’ (Lanfanconi, 2006, pp.11-12). Therefore, Botticelli’s goddess, portraits of Queen Elizabeth I,

and Tiepolo’s depiction of Cleopatra inform our Western cultural understanding of the pearl as a

symbol of wealth, power, natural beauty, and femininity. This research project situates the pearl in

history and culture and in the history of jewellery, before focusing on the Australian pearl.

2.1 PEARLING IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

The pearl has a long history in Eastern and Western culture throughout human history. This research

looks specifically at contemporary Australian South Sea pearl farming in the northwest.

In the mid 1800s, Aboriginal Yawuru and Bardi people were trading Riji (carved pearl shell) across the

northwest and as far as central Australia. An example of this trading was found in a twenty-two-

thousand-year-old piece of pearl shell that was discovered in a West Kimberley rock shelter. This find

provided clear evidence of the cultural value for pearl shells for Aborigines (Lustre Pearling &

Australia 2018). Pearl shells are used for ornamentation by men from the Western Desert, who wore

carved pearl shells during ceremonies and as a symbol of stature (Thomas, 2007). It is important to

acknowledge the cultural importance of this shell to the traditional custodians of this land and its use

within sacred ceremonies.

Figure 2.6: Pubic cover, (riji, jakuli or lonkalonka), La Grange, Kimberley region, Western Australia, pre 1940. MM

A2009. (Edmundson & Boylan, p. 17)

Image removed due to copyright

In the late seventeenth century, European explorer and naturalist William Dampier noticed the

presence of pearl shells in waters off the coast of Gutharraguda (Shark Bay) (Edwards & Yu, 2018).

The first type of pearl shell seen by Dampier was the P. albina. This is one of the smaller varieties of

Pinctada (pearl shell) and can produce straw coloured ‘seed’ pearls. It wasn’t until the 1850s that

commercial harvesting of P. albina began, when a government official investigating the area identified

the trade potential in the prolific oyster banks. The shell was collected in the area from the 1850s up

until the 1930s. Two or three pearls were found in every hundred shells opened. Initially,

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beachcombing, and free diving methods were used to collect the shells, but later, dredging was found

to be the most successful way to gather shells in Shark Bay. Dredging was the technique of dragging

wire mesh baskets behind small sailing boats in shallow waters.

The 1861 European discovery of the P. maxima shells at Nickol Bay led to colonial farmers using the

site for systematic pearl shell harvesting (Edwards & Yu, 2018). The pastoralists could see the

potential of the shell and asked Aboriginal servants to reveal their shell places. Pearl shells were in

such abundance that it was first collected off the shores and reef beds. After all the shells washed

ashore were collected, ‘nude diving’ or ‘free diving’ began. This was the start of inhumane acts of

blackbirding. White pearlers went inland to unregulated areas to capture Aboriginal people to use as

labour. These pearling seasons off the shores of Roebuck Bay, a treacherous environment with poor

conditions, saw many Aboriginal lives lost to shark attacks and drowning (Adams, 1989).

Back on land, Roebuck Bay was a lawless, ungoverned place where the horrific treatment of

Aboriginal people continued even after the intervention of pearling regulations and fisheries inspectors

in 1871. During this time, men travelled from China and Japan to become hard-hat divers for pearl

shells off the shores of Australia (Adams, 1989). This style of pearl diving was introduced to the

northwest as early as 1867. Pearling boats would use both skin/nude divers and hard-hat divers; both

practices were extremely dangerous and resulted in many deaths. The prospect of the high price

received for the shells and the chance of finding their pearls was so alluring, men were putting their

lives on the line day after day, many to never return home.

In the 1880s, the early Australian pearling industry started to take shape at Roebuck Bay with the

advent of master pearlers and luggers. The master pearlers were colonial entrepreneurs, European

settlers, pastoralists, and merchant seamen that drove the growth of the pearling industry in the

northwest. In Lustre: Pearling & Australia exhibition catalogue, pearling masters are described as

‘Master pearlers – or pearling masters, as they called themselves – [who] dominated the social and

political life of Australia’s north, in towns like Cossack, Broome and Darwin, and as far as the Torres

Strait’ (Edwards & Yu, 2018, p. 83). The pearl masters oversaw the luggers and their crew. The

lugger was the sea vessel designed for the collecting of pearl shells. A typical post-war lugger crew

was made up of men from Malaysia, China, Timor, the Philippines, and Japan, often indentured

workers. A lugger team consisted of a head hard-hat diver, second hard-hat diver, two tenders, an

engineer, a cook, and several shell openers who also cleaned the shells.

Broome became known as the main pearling centre of the world, delivering the largest pearl oyster

shell, which was sold to become mother of pearl buttons, combs, buckles, cufflinks, cutlery handles,

and mother of pearl inlay in furniture. The town has grown from many different cultures, due to the

pearl shell industry being heavily made up of indentured non-European workers. During the pearling

boom of Western Australia around 1910, the government agreed to an exemption from the White

Australian policy for this industry (Edwards, 1984).

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In the early twentieth century, the pearling industry would change from collecting a natural resource to

harvesting and cultivating the product. Tatsuhei Mise and government biologist Tokishi Nishikawa

patented the technique to cultivate round pearls by looking at the work of marine biologist William

Saville-Kent (Edwards & Yu, 2018). Tokishi Nishikawa’s father in-law was Kokichi Mikimoto, and it

was Mikimoto’s dream that every woman would be able to afford to wear these beautiful gems; in

1916 he was able to introduce cultured round pearls to the commercial market.

In Australia, several failed attempts were made to cultivate pearls until the Western Australian

government enacted the Pearling Act to restrict the production, possession, and sale of Australian

cultured pearls in 1922. The industry continued collecting and selling pearl shells until the industry

was affected by Japanese pearl cultivation and the commercial growth of plastic buttons, which took

trade away from the mother of pearl button market. The restrictions on cultivated pearls in Australia

were finally lifted in 1949 (Edwards & Yu, 2018).

An American and Australian pearling master teamed up with a Japanese pearl technician to form the

first Australian cultured pearl farm in 1956. Located at Kuri Bay, northwest Australia, it began

operating under the name of Pearls Proprietary Limited (PPL), and their first harvest of cultured pearls

was released in 1958. The first Australian to culture spherical pearls was Lyndon Brown in the 1960s;

he operated at Cygnet Bay and worked closely with Aboriginal colleagues Tom Wiggan, Gordon

Dixon, and Aubrey Tigan (Edwards & Yu, 2018).

Image removed due to copyright

Figure 2.7: A modern pearl diving vessel at sea off Broome, Australia. Photograph by Rüdiger Bieler. (Landman,

Mikkelsen, Bieler & Bronson, p.167)

The 1970s shaped the industry to the one we are familiar with today. This decade saw the transition

of hard-hat diving to modern drift diving with wetsuits and mouthpieces. The unique environment that

the P. maxima lives in required specific methods of farming designed to suit this marine specimen.

For the animal to thrive during harvesting, the method of rafting was changed to submerged longline

systems PPL and pearling company Paspaley transitioned this shift rafts to nets placed beneath the

open water. The largest impact to commercially cultured pearls came from Paspaley in 1974.

(Edwards & Yu, 2018). The Paspaley Pearl was the first sea vessel of its kind; it was the first at using

15

on-board pearl culture laboratories with pearl technicians. The technology, developed in the 1970s,

led to a boom in cultured Australian South Sea Pearl farms along the northwest coast in the 1980s.

This project looks at the history of Broome from the period of white settlement and the European

discovery of P. Maxima, which began the Australian pearling industry today. My research is situated

within the contemporary northwest Australian pearling industries and their methods of pearl

cultivation.

2.2 CULTIVATING TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY AUSTRALIAN SOUTH SEA PEARLS

Today there are four large pearling companies operating off the shores of Northwest Australia. P.

maxima is still collected from the ocean floor in restricted quantities to protect the species. The

gathered specimens are brought to the hatchery for breeding. Pearl oysters are cultivated every two

years on harvesting vessels in top secret rooms by skilful technicians. Harvest happens every year

between the months of July and September.

Hatcheries were the next development in pearl farming during the 1990s and have become crucial to

pearl farming today, from spawning and growing spat to breeding the algae that feeds the growing

spat. Spat is the term used by P. maxima cultivators for once the larvae are old enough to grow a foot

and attach themselves to lines. To begin cultivating fertilised eggs are bred in tanks filled with filtered

seawater and carefully monitored.

While on location at Willie Creek Pearl Farm a guided tour was provided and detailed the cultivating

methods as such; Within twenty-four hours, they become larvae and are fed algae. At day fifteen, the

larvae are starting to take their shell shape and use a foot to attach themselves onto net lines. At day

twenty, the larvae grow into spat and are taken out to sea placed in nets, left on the bottom of the

ocean floor and flipped frequently. At day sixty, the spat specimens are placed into larger pocketed

nets and placed back on the ocean floor and flipped frequently until two years old (Willie Creek

Pearls, tour guide, 9 August 2019).

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Figure 2.8: Katherine Hubble, Processing of the algae to feed spat in Willie Creek Pearl Farm’s hatchery,

photographed at Willie Creek Pearl Farm, West Australia, 9 August 2019, 11am

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Figure 2.9: Katherine Hubble, 2019-2021, Hatchery Strand Series, polypropylene, vinyl tint, 3D printed resin,

elastic, acrylic push toggle, silver, 300 x 250 x 40 mm and 250 x 250 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh.

Hatchery Strand Series (2019-2021) (Figure 2.8) is a series of two works referencing the current

technologies employed in the cultivation and breeding of P. maxima within Australian pearl farms.

These works highlight the importance of hatcheries as the beginning stage of creating an Australian

South Sea Pearl and the lifecycle of the oyster spat while being cared for within the hatchery. (Figure

2.7) shows the algae being produced inside the hatchery, to be fed to the spat to help with the health

and growth of the oyster. While referencing the oysters’ beginning, this series also highlights the

result of harvesting and cultivating pearls, the ‘perfect’ strand of pearls. The hatchery is a controlled

environment filled with plastic, glass, and metal materials to protect these extremely fragile and

precious environments. The equipment used within the hatchery informed my use of materials and

colour within the work.

Twenty-first century pearl cultivation starts when the pearl oyster is two years old and is seeded by

trained technicians. The nucleus is the bead that is inserted into the gonad of the mollusc. It is made

from a Mississippi mussel shell carved into a sphere. The Mississippi mussel shell is used because it

is a denser shell than the P. maxima pearl shell; it can be seen inside the pearl when x-rayed.

18

Image removed due to copyright

Figure 2.10: ‘View in cross-section, each pearl shows a unique arrangement of layers that reflect changes in the

physiology of the mollusk (sic) and the environment in which it lives’ (Landman, Mikkelsen, Bieler & Bronson,

p.45)

Once the oyster is implanted with the nucleus and mantle tissue taken from a donor shell, it is placed

back into nets and returned to the ocean floor. The nets are flipped every two days and then X-ray

checked for pearl sack growth and nucleus placement. The nets are then placed onto long lines, two

to three meters from the surface where the tides take over the task of flipping the nets from side to

side. The lines and nets need to be cleaned every six to eight weeks to maintain the health and

wellbeing of the oysters. After two years of coating the nuclei in nacre, the pearl technicians will safely

remove the pearl from the oyster’s gonad and replace it with a new nucleus the same size as the

removed pearl. This allows the mollusc to keep producing; every two years, the oyster can produce a

pearl larger in size at each seeding. A pearl is always one-third nacre and two-third nuclei (Figure

2.10) (9 August 2019). As pearl oysters age, the percentage of successful pearl production goes

down significantly. Each seeded pearl oyster has a twenty percent chance of not growing a pearl and

a fifty to ninety percent chance of a non-gem quality pearl. A non-gem quality pearl is brown in colour

and has a bad complexion grading. These pearls are ground back down to re-use the Mississippi

mussel nucleus (Willie Creek Pearls, tour guide, 9 August 2019).

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Figure 2.11: Katherine Hubble, empty juvenile pearl oyster net, photographed at Willie Creek Pearl Farm, West

Australia, 9 August 2019, 11am.

Figure 2.12: Katherine Hubble, prepared spat pearl oyster net, photographed at Willie Creek Pearl Farm, West

Australia, 9 August 2019, 11am.

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Figure 2.13: Katherine Hubble, 2019-2020, Pearl Farmer Net #III, Ink on Arches watercolour paper 300gsm, 760

x 560mm. Image: Janelle Low.

21

Pearl Farmer Net #III (2019-2020) (Figure 2.13) is one in a series of ink on paper works that

references the nets and chainmail to be used throughout the process of breeding, cultivation and

harvesting by pearl farmers in the industry. The fibre nets are attached to a rectangular steel frame,

and these come into use after the larvae oysters become spat and have grown a foot with which to

attach themselves to the lines, (Figure 2.12) shows the net before the spat is attached. (Figure 2.11)

is the net frame with empty woven pockets that house each of the juvenile oysters, which is placed at

the bottom of the ocean. All the oysters are housed and contained in these mesh panels while in the

ocean. Each oyster is placed within its own pocket on the panel. The panels are made of a fabricated

metal frame that is woven and knotted with polyethylene thread. These works on paper are informed

by these nets and tools specifically made for this industry.

The current pearling practices of Australia’s northwest have greatly influenced the making of my

research outcomes. During the conducted fieldwork in Broome and the Dampier Peninsular, I visited

active pearl farms local to the area. While on location I attended guided tours of the pearl farms to

learn about the cultivation and harvesting methods currently used and to see firsthand the hatcheries.

During the guided tour provided by Willie Creek Pearls the tour guide (9th August 2019), extensively

explained the entire process from collecting wild shell to the harvesting of the cultured pearl and the grading to create a strand of pearls.

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3.0 COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE

My research project explores how pearls, and their shells can be incorporated into contemporary

jewellery objects. My works are informed by methods used within the current pearling industry of

Australia’s northwest and the changing role of pearl jewellery within contemporary culture. In my

creative practice, I use pearls and shells in combination with industrial synthetic materials and new

technologies. These methods consider the relevance of pearl jewellery in a contemporary context.

The symbolic, visual, and material qualities of pearls are integral to my project, as they were used in

traditional and historical jewellery forms. The pearl itself is a mesmerising gem of desire and this

traditional jewellery material has its own cultural history. These jewellery materials and designs inform

contemporary jewellery approaches today and provide a context for new jewellers.

I have been working with pearls since 2016, and during my research I have been looking at artists

who use pearl or shell material in new ways by combining and contrasting traditional and

unconventional methods and materials. I look at specific pieces of jewellery and how each artist has

employed the material, not just made into jewellery that showcases the pearl or shell for its visual

qualities, but jewellery that communicates through its cultural and historical narratives.

Lin Cheung, Lisa Walker, Lauren Kalman, and Manon van Kouswijk have all used pearls within their

artistic practice. Each artist uses the pearl in different ways to represent different conceptual ideas

that question what pearls and pearl jewellery mean to them within their culture and as a traditional

jewellery convention. Each of the selected artists for my community of practice seek to challenge the

archetype of a pearl necklace and its association with femininity and beauty.

In addition to the gemmological pearl, I have also looked at a group of contemporary jewellers

working with pearl shells and other shell species. The artists I have chosen, have created specific

works that connect with their cultural background or explore shell as a material through their individual

practice. The artists include Warwick Freeman, Jiro Kamata, Lola Greeno, and Helen Britton. In each

of their practices, Lola Greeno and Helen Britton also use fieldwork in the collection of seashells.

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3.1 CONTEMPORARY REINTERPRETATIONS OF PEARLS

Image removed due to copyright

Figure 3.1: Lin Cheung, 2017, Pearl Necklace -— Graduated, carved freshwater pearls, reconditioned vintage

case, gold.

Lin Cheung explores how jewellery and making can be used as a lens to view the world we live in.

The series of works titled Pearl Necklace (Cheung 2016–2017) investigates the feminine stereotype

connected to pearl jewellery. The works began with a pearl strand necklace handed down to her by

her mother as inspiration. Since she did not believe in the socially constructed femininity that this

piece of jewellery symbolises, she never wore it until she decided to carve the pearls to make a chain

necklace; in doing so, she removed any gender associations that come with this pearl necklace

length, known as Matinée. Pearl strand necklaces are named regarding the length and a social

standing of dress code. This pearl strand length, ‘Matinée’, was used by Cheung for its connotations

of being inoffensive, proper and feminine. During a lecture on 14 October 2020 in Applied Arts Ireland

& Northern Ireland Autumn/ Winter Lecture Series at Applied Arts Ireland, Dublin, the guest speaker,

Lin Cheung said that:

taking this picture I thought I noticed a change that happened. It changed somehow the

nature of the pearl necklace. It didn't seem traditionally feminine any longer. It became a

chain first and foremost, it actually became a chain rather than a beaded necklace or pearl

necklace, then you discover the pearls.

For Cheung, changing the view of the traditional graduated pearl strand into another jewellery form

lifted the stereotype associated with a pearl necklace, bringing this piece of jewellery into the twenty-

first century.

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Image removed due to copy right Figure 3.2: Lauren Kalman, Hood 2, 2014, https://artjewelryforum.org/lauren-kalman-but-if-the-crime-is-beautiful- %E2%80%A6-1

Lauren Kalman is an American artist who works with contemporary crafts, photography, and

performance. Kalman’s series of works But if the Crime is Beautiful… Hoods (Kalman 2014–2016)

feature gold, pearls, linen and the body. The title of the body of work which this series comes from

refers to Adolf Loos’s 1910 lecture and essay, ‘Ornament and Crime’, where he suggests that

ornamentation is only for degenerates and criminals (Loos, 1908). Kalman’s practice employs gold

and pearls that are contrasted against her body, claiming the power of femininity. Hood (2) (Kalman

2014) is a mask covering the face, blinding, and silencing the figure with lavish adornment, covering

the figures’ identity by ornamentation. Many of Kalman’s works are presented through photography,

exploring the female role in visual culture.

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Figure 3.3: Lisa Walker, Necklace, 2006, thread, freshwater pearls, glue.

Image removed due to copyright

Lisa Walker is a New Zealand born contemporary practitioner working with a wide variety of materials

and techniques to question what jewellery is and what it could be. Her works sit within something

familiar by pushing stereotypical beauty and her own aesthetic approach to material. With her work, a

neon-threaded pearl necklace, Walker looks at one of the most traditional jewellery motifs and makes

it her own using this modern, vibrant, coloured thread. Lisa Walker stated that ‘Sometimes you just

have to try interpreting the most brilliant piece of jewellery of all, a pearl necklace’ (Walker, 2019, p.

309). Walker really breaks away from traditional jewellery here with the use of glue as a material.

Traditionally, gems would be set or surrounded by metal to hold them in place, but here it is only glue

that secures the pearls. There is a tension created through precious and non-precious materials being

placed side by side, questioning value within jewellery materials.

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Image removed due to copyright

Figure 3.4: Manon van Kouswijk, Soap, 1995, Edition of 50, Glycerine soap, freshwater pearls, thread, each 80 x 55 x 25mm, photo by artist (Skinner, 2013 p. 53)

Image removed due to copyright

Figure 3.5: Manon van Kouswijk, Re:model, 2003, glazed porcelain, thread, 340 x 150 x 45mm.

Manon van Kouswijk is a Dutch artist living in Melbourne, Australia, who works with the medium of

jewellery. Manon has extensively explored archetypal jewellery forms and motifs, focusing on the

traditional motif of the threaded or beaded necklace through a range of processes and materials. Her

interest in the threaded pearl necklace began with searching for a starting point of inquiry into

classical jewellery. In a Current Obsession magazine interview, Manon states that ‘I was looking for a

more universal starting point for my work and trying to find a piece of jewellery that was the total

opposite of everything we were taught in art school’ (Kouswijk, 2012, p.74). Kouswijk’s 1995 work

explores another way of thinking about this classical jewellery form; in Soap, 1995, glycerine soap is

used to emphasize the ritual of washing whilst slowly releasing the threaded pearls. Additionally

Re:model 2003 is a necklace made using a ceramic re-production technique of mould making and slip

casting. For this work a beaded necklace was moulded to recreate the original form in a new material.

Within this work Kouswijk plays with the archetypical jewellery motif of the beaded necklace and how it can be remodelled into contemporary jewellery in a playful way.

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3.2 USE OF SHELL IN JEWELLERY OBJECTS

Image removed due to copyright

Figure 3.6 Warwick Freeman, Scallop blossom, 1995, scallop shell, gold, silver, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC

Warwick Freeman is a self-defined jewellery maker who works with materials of shell, bone and stone

that connect him to place. Freeman’s work of the 1980s and 1990s investigated a way of making

jewellery that was of the pacific region through natural local available materials. Warwick is most

famous for using materials of stone, bone, and shell. The use of these materials is described by a

prominent Dutch academic (den Besten, 2004):

Warwick makes use of the materials that have been available to the craftsmen of the Pacific

for thousands of years: all kinds of shells, mother of pearl, pebbles, ebony, and hardstones

like greenstone and jade. Sometimes they act as ready-mades, like shells, or bone.

Freeman employs traditional European jewellery techniques with intrinsic New Zealand materials. The

use of these material choices in his works talk to identity and place.

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Image removed due to copyright

Figure 3.7: Jiro Kamata, Mother, 2018, https://www.jirokamata.com/item/240

Image removed due to copyright

Figure 3.8: Jiro Kamata, Mother, 2018, https://www.jirokamata.com/item/240

Japanese-born artist, Jiro Kamata, is a goldsmith who works with unconventional jewellery materials

throughout his practice. Kamata works with themes of perception and illusion, using light to bring the

jewellery piece to life. Breaking away from the use of reflective glass and repurposed photographic

lenses, he created a new series of works titled Mother. This was the first time Kamata chose to create

works made from a natural and traditional material. The brooches are made using different colours of

mother of pearl shell and a traditional technique of inlay, where the mother of pearl is cut into

geometric triangular shapes and then fitted back together in abstract forms. This group of works

specifically looks at the language around this material and its symbolism of its title, Mother of Pearl.

The backs of the brooches are surfaces highly polished to act as a mirror and are displayed on mirror

circle bases so that the viewer of each brooch discovers a word reflected from the base on the back

of each brooch. The words such as hero, beauty, and family are all associated with mother.

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Image removed due to copyright

Figure 3.9: Helen Britton, page exert from artist catalogue, Jewellery Life (Britton, 2010, pp. 56-57).

Helen Britton is an Australian artist living in Germany who creates jewellery works, objects, works on

paper, and installations. During a return trip to Australia, Britton explored the West coast; she has a

strong connection and deep appreciation for her home country. A series of engraved and carved pearl

shell objects were made after collecting materials from personal visits and holidays on the western

coastline. Experiences of place and memory are imprinted within these works to tell a story of the

personal connection Britton has to Western Australia and its coastline. An Australian Broadcasting

Corporation (ABC) (2017) radio program episode, ‘Demons, ghost trains and seashells: the jewellery

of Helen Britton’, Britton talks about her experience of often returning to Western Australia:

I do think in WA and Australia in general certainly, but there are parts of WA that is so remote,

the landscape, the environment consumes you completely, you become incredibly small and

incredibly aware of how you're working within a set of big constructs, it gives you a healthy

distance and allows you to kind of step out of all of that machinery all of that pressure and just

regenerate and also be really insignificant, I mean you're really a grain of sand on the South

Britton uses her return visits to Western Australia to immerse herself in the environment that inspires

Coast beach for a while and I find that incredibly medicinal.

her practice and for the emotional connections and memories connected to this landscape. The works

made from the personal explorations of West Australia detail her deep care in using collected

materials and skilled processes.

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Image removed due to copyright

Figure 3.10: teunne (king maireener shell crown), 2013, king maireener shells, wire, diameter 250mm, (Greeno & Gough, 2014, pp. 6-7)

Tasmanian born Palawa artist, Lola Greeno, works with traditional Tasmanian Aboriginal shell

necklace threading techniques. Her works express her cultural and personal connection to identity

and place. Greeno has a strong bond to the locations where the shells are collected and a deep

knowledge of the optimal conditions for shell collection. Crafting these necklaces is a process that

needs intimate knowledge of live shell collection sites, the beaches, seasons, and tides. Once

collected, the shells need to be cleaned and stripped, then sorted for stranding, and finally, by using a

pattern and a combination of varying shells, they are threaded.

As a child growing up on Cape Barren Island, the beach was her backyard, where she would collect

shells with her mother. Greeno had always collected shells since childhood, but it wasn’t until the

1990s that Greeno and her mother began making shell necklaces together. This was when Greeno

was taught the Aboriginal Tasmanian women’s cultural practice of shell necklace threading (Greeno,

& Gough, 2014).

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3.3 CONCLUSION

Art jewellery, also known around the world as contemporary jewellery and studio jewellery, is a fine

art discipline that is relatively new in terms of the fine arts, as the traditional making of jewellery

known as gold and silversmithing was categorised under the applied arts because of its functionality

with the body (den Besten, L 2011).

My research project is situated within the discipline of art jewellery, contextualised by historical and

cultural research into the world’s largest pearl oyster, the P. maxima, found in the warm waters of

Australia’s northwest. Seashells have been used for body ornament throughout human history. My

research looks at contemporary Western reinterpretations of this archetype. In my work, I use pearls

and shells in combination with industrial synthetic materials and methods to bring pearl jewellery into

a twenty-first century context.

Contemporary jewellery and craft artists Lin Cheung, Lauren Kalman, Lisa Walker and Manon van

Kouswijk have, within their practice, examined the pearl necklace and the cultural significance of this

jewellery archetype. Each artist questions its role within society and its symbolism of femininity and

wealth. Methods of carving, stitching, mixing fake and real, and gluing are used with pearls,

challenging their material and social value. In my research, I also reimagine the socially constructed

idea of what a pearl necklace is or could be today.

Artists and crafts people who use shells as a material within their work include Helen Britton, Lola

Greeno, Jiro Kamata, and Warwick Freeman. The use of shells in jewellery dates to the beginning of

body ornamentation and as a motif, has inspired many crafts people within history. Seashells have a

strong connection to place and cultural identity. Each artist uses their personal connection and

cultural history of the place using shells and craft techniques. I have made the decision to not use

shell as a material within my final jewellery outcomes, but as the inspiration for form, to be reproduced

by using contemporary plastics.

Lola Greeno and Helen Britton use fieldwork as well as seashells within their artistic practice. Both

artists visit Australian coastlines and employ shell collecting methods within specific site locations.

The places they choose to visit and collect shells from are important to their connection with Australia

and personal memories. For Lola Greeno, she also connects to Country while visiting her shell

collecting sites and through the making of her works. The fieldwork I chose to undertake for my

research within the northwest of Australia enabled me to experience first-hand Australia’s South Sea

Pearling industries and to study organic materials that would be used within the creative practice-led

research and final jewellery outcomes.

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4.0 METHODOLOGY

This practice-based research project looks at the fascination and phenomenology of the shell,

specifically looking at Australian species of pearl shell for their natural, alluring nacre. In this chapter, I

will discuss how the shell forms the basis of my methodology as it provides the inspiration and drive

for my project. The shell is the natural location and setting where the pearl is formed; through the

readings of Gaston Bachelard, I consider the shell more deeply, drawing inspiration from its surfaces

and life cycles.

I will describe how an integral part of this research is the fieldwork conducted on the coastline of

northwest Australia. The Oxford Australian Dictionary (Moore 2009) defines fieldwork as; ‘the practical

work of a surveyor, collector of scientific data, sociologist, etc., conducted in the natural environment

rather than a laboratory, office, etc. As an artist, this methodology of fieldwork is crucial to this

research, and it took place during August 2019. The main aim of the fieldwork was to experience for

myself how the contemporary West Australian pearling industry operates today. During the fieldwork, I

collected photographic documentation, field notes, made drawings, and collected a select sample of

organic materials from coastal beaches.

From the beginning of this project, I have engaged with practice-led making methods, and these are

employed through material experimentation. Initially, samples are materials made responding to

readings and the fieldwork undertaken in 2019. The studio-based artworks are made and investigated

through trial and error and in response to my research into pearls, the history of pearls and my

fieldwork.

4.1 THE SHELL

The shell has long been a natural phenomenon that is a source of fascination, wonderment, and

beauty for humankind. As magic and religion emerged within society, the shell's resemblance to

certain body parts inspired their use as amulets and their symbolism. The shell's imagery and

symbolism have long been a source for inspiration and intrigue for artists and craftspeople.

The French philosopher, Gaston Bachelard, refers to craft processes in The Poetics of Space; he

looks at how we experience intimate places through the enamel and ceramic materials that have

represented the shell, and how the maker of these objects is drawn to the shell-like qualities that

these materials replicate so well. ‘For a potter or an enamellist, a shell must indeed be a subject for

infinite meditation’ (Bachelard, 1964, p.127).

The shell is a magnet to the imagination; in the phenomenology of the inhabited shell, it is possible for

anything to emerge from within. The half-open, half-closed nature of a bivalve mollusc holds the

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intrigue of possible refuge within its soft interior, or, on the other hand, the danger of being

encapsulated in an eternal sarcophagus of nacre.

Gaston Bachelard’s phenomenological ideas around the shell are of geometrical form, emergence,

postponed aggression, resurrection, repose, and the shell as home or fortress. Bachelard describes

the geometrical form of a shell as transcendental geometry, stating that ‘it’s the formation not the form

that remains mysterious’ (Bachelard, 1958, p.103).

The optical phenomenon of nacre creates a human reaction, a pulse of curiosity. The shiny surface

reflects an iridescent rainbow captured within a small object of natural beauty. Norwegian art

historian, Jorunn Veiteberg, looked at the etymology of the word beauty in German and Norwegian,

meaning ‘something that is beautiful is something that shines’ (Veiteberg, 2005, p. 46). Shiny pretty

things that catch our eye evoke the myth of the trinket-stealing magpie. We collect and treasure these

objects of fascination and wonder and hoard them in our nests.

On shells that produce nacre, the exterior to the alluring, smooth, shiny, rainbow interior is one of a

hard, rough, layered organic surface that is covered in foreign growths, lumps, and bumps. The

layering and growth lines of age are shown in all their glory. Both sides are as unique as each other,

although how opposite they are shows that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, seeing beauty within

the imperfect.

4.2 FIELDWORK

Fieldwork is defined by academics Christopher Pole and Sam Hillyard (2017) in Doing Fieldwork as

‘fieldwork is a way of doing research where the emphasis is placed on the collection of data at first hand by a researcher’ (Pole & Hillyard, 2017 p.3.)

During my fieldwork in Broome, Western Australia, an integral part to the practice-based research

was the collection of organic materials. Collecting seashells from the shoreline has long been a part of

human behaviour; the wonder and fascination with the natural world is contained within a palm-sized

object of great beauty.

The act of collecting seashells for myself is nostalgic for my childhood growing up in Western

Australia, and memories of our family summer coastal holidays. My mother and I would collect shells

from different beaches as we travelled up the coast.

Shell collecting has long been a favoured coastal pastime, but today, with environmental concerns for

the marine ecosystem, it is important to collect with knowledge and within set guidelines. It was

important for me to know that the areas I would be travelling to and collecting from were not Marine

parks and reserves with ‘no take zone’ beaches and coastlines. The West Australian government

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classifies shells as fish under the Fish Resources Management Act 1994, which prohibits the sale of

recreationally collected shells and the collecting of live coral and rock, as these are protected species.

I had three main rules regarding the marine ecosystems I visited. The first was no live shell collecting;

this meant I would not collect living shell species, only dead exoskeletons of shells washed ashore.

The second rule was not to collect shells that could be a future home for living organisms; these are

classified as Gastropods. The third rule was not to overturn rocks and habitats while looking.

Artists Lola Greeno and Helen Britton use fieldwork within their practice. Both artists visit Australian

coastlines and employ shell collecting methods. Palawa artist Lola Greeno specialises in kanalaritja

(Tasmanian shell necklace making), a tradition passed down through aboriginal elder women. Greeno

visits Flinders Island to collect live shells; this act connects her to her country and the cultural

knowledge passed down to her. The traditional technique of live shell collecting is related to her

cultural traditions of Aboriginal shell necklace making. Greeno first learnt by watching and following

her mother on Cape Barren Island where she grew up.

Helen Britton is an Australian artist currently living in Germany who enjoys returning home to travel

the beautiful beaches of Western Australia. She made a series of seashell necklaces and objects

after collecting materials from personal visits and holidays on the western coastline. Experiences of

place and memory are imprinted within these works to tell a story of her personal connection to

Western Australia and intimate knowledge of the place.

4.3 PRACTICE-BASED / PRACTICE LED AND TACIT KNOWLEDGE

‘Practice-based research is an original investigation undertaken to gain new knowledge partly by

means of practice and the outcomes of that practice’ (Candy, 2006, p. 1).

Barret and Bolt (2007), in Practice as Research Approaches to Creative Arts Enquiry, state that

artistic practice is the production of knowledge, or can be viewed as philosophy in action. The studio

enquiry of my research project is conducted through the process of material samples and tests. The

investigation of how my materials are going to behave under certain processes demonstrates

practice-based research. The results of the material investigation are visible in the creative outcomes

and documentation of experimentation.

Tacit knowledge is gained through experience and thinking; this is usually seen as the opposite of

explicit knowledge. Barret and Bolt (2007, p. 4) argue that in artistic research, this is not the case: ‘It

refers to embodied knowledge or “skill” developed and applied in practice and apprehended intuitively

— a process that is readily understood by artistic researchers who recognise that the opposition

between explicit and tacit knowledge is a false one’.

My practice employs material exploration and contemporary jewellery making techniques which

extend to industrial processes such as vacuum forming and 3D printing. Through experimenting with

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traditional jewellery making practices and new technology, I reflect on my explorations and look for

alternative representations of the pearl.

4.4 HEURISTIC

Within my research project, I adopt a heuristic approach to problem solving when making and

experimenting with my chosen materials. Through the testing of materials and within these

combinations of traditional craft and jewellery-making techniques I investigate final outcomes.

Heuristic learning, ‘refers to a process of internal search through which one discovers the nature and

meaning of experience and develops methods and procedures for further investigation and analysis’

(Moustakas 1990, p. 9). By testing and retesting with different combinations of materials and

processes, I can find new ways of creating contemporary jewellery forms. One important investigation

is the layering and specific combination of synthetic materials to create the effect of iridescence in the

final outcomes.

4.5 CONCLUSION

A practice-based approach is followed throughout. In my practice of material experimentation along

with exploration of craft and manufacturing techniques, I have employed a heuristic method of

creation. The use of selected materials is tested in combination with collected organic materials from

fieldwork undertaken in Broome and the Dampier Peninsula.

‘The idea behind fieldwork is that it is about getting involved with what and who you are researching. It

is about doing research in a practical, applied, ‘hands on’ sense’ (Pole & Hillyard, 2017, p.2). The

fieldwork was an important element of the research project, enabling an understanding of place and

contemporary Australian pearling industry operations. During the fieldwork, being with my mother and

collecting seashells that had washed ashore reminded me of my childhood holidays, when we spent

so many hours searching together for natural treasures.

Artists who use working fieldwork in a similar way to the methods I employ are Lola Greeno and

Helen Britton; both have a strong connection to the places they visit, and the time spent there. The

shell is used within each artistic practice as a material but also as a symbol of memory and place. The

collection and documentation of seashells has been an otherworldly human pastime throughout

history — one that has involved an appreciation and understanding of nature.

The weird and wonderful world of seashells fascinates and fuels the imagination. Bachelard explores

ideas around the phenomenology of the shell, imagining how the animal housed by a shell could be

ready for attack at any point or at the same time retreating within — half open or half closed. The

wonderment of shells enchants us when we first glimpse a shimmer, half buried under the sand, and

excavate and wash it to reveal its natural beauty.

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5.0 METHODS

In my practice-based research project, I use a combination of traditional jewellery methods and

contemporary industrial processes. Material samples are made in the studio with plastics to test

different jewellery making methods and new combinations of materials to be incorporated into the final

resolved jewellery objects. It is the link between these two ways of making that brings the final

jewellery pieces into a contemporary setting. The first method uses traditional techniques to make

jewellery, for example, by saw piercing and riveting. The second method uses mass production

manufacturing, for example, mould making and vacuum forming.

Figure 5.1: Katherine Hubble, Jewellery bench and tools, 2021.

5.1 JEWELLERY TECHNIQUES

My training is in traditional jewellery making and fine art; these techniques are employed to create the

final jewellery and objects. There are many processes in jewellery making for transforming metals and

alternative materials. For this research project, I have selected cold connection jewellery techniques

to combine plastics and investigate original creative outcomes. ‘Cold connection’ is a jewellery

discipline specific term used to encompass a range of making techniques and skills where heat is not

involved, they are used for joining different materials and building complex constructions that require

multiple stages of assembly or are sensitive to heat.

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The main joining techniques I have used are traditional pearl threading, rivets, and screw thread

connections. For the Plastic Lustre (2019 – 2021) brooch series I have used rivets to hold the plastic

shell forms in place, connecting the shell forms to their plastic bases. The threaded connections are

used to connect the brooch back to the acrylic base of the shell form.

Screw threaded connections are made using a tap and die to create an ascending spiral and the two

parts that screw together. This cold connection allows me to screw the silver elements to the acrylic

backs of the shell forms, transforming the shell's function from object to wearable pieces.

I have incorporated pearl threading concepts in the Iridescent Parasite (2019- 2021) and Pearl

Technician (2021) series. Pearl threading is the traditional process of knotting pearls along silk thread

to create a pearl strand. Pearl strands are known by name and not by a measurement for their length.

The shortest is known as Collar, which sits high on the neck; next in length is the Choker, then the

Princess length, then Matinee; below the bust line is Opera and anything longer than this is known as

Rope. Pearl strands can be graduated, where the pearls at each end of the strand are at their

smallest and grow until the middle pearl is the largest. Pearl strands traditionally come as single

strand, double strand, or triple strand. Each pearl strand of high-quality pearls is knotted. The knots

between each pearl protects the nacre from rubbing together and becoming damaged; also, if the

thread breaks only one pearl may be lost and not the entire strand. This practice of knotting and

threading is used today with Australian South Sea Pearls, as they have the highest commercial value.

5.2 TECHNOLOGY AND INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES

This practiced-based research investigates ways of employing industrial processes to create twenty-

first century pearl jewellery and objects. I have selected the processes of vacuum forming, 3D printing

and resin casting which are used extensively in the mass production of commodity objects and

packaging.

The process of vacuum forming is where a sheet of plastic is heated and vacuumed against a mould.

For my research project, I used the seashells collected during my fieldwork, as the mould object;

thermoplastic is then heated and suctioned over the original to create a plastic copy of the seashell.

This process allows me to make multiple copies of one shell in different plastic sheet materials. This

variety of plastics is necessary for the final outcomes, as layering these materials creates an optical

illusion.

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Figure 5.2: Katherine Hubble, Digital rendering of fitting before printing, 2020.

Figure 5.3: Katherine Hubble, 3D printed jewellery fittings inside of resin cure machine, 2020.

With the new technology of plastic 3D printing, I can create fittings and attachments out of 3D printed

resin. This process of making in the digital realm is very different from the early traditions of jewellery

making. By using the processes and technologies of plastic 3D printing, I can create new joining

methods out of 3D printing resin. This process of making is very different from the methods of

collecting and stringing pearls in traditional and commercial jewellery.

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6.0 MATERIALS

This chapter discusses the materials used in the research project. It covers the reasons why each

material has been selected and the context of each material. The creative project began with a

selection of plastic and iridescent materials that simulated the visual effects of nacre (mother of pearl).

Plastic is used in my final jewellery outcomes as a non-precious material to be transformed through

mass production techniques into precious jewellery objects. The materials were chosen for their

iridescent qualities, colour, texture, and shape. Non-traditional materials are used in innovative new

ways to create jewellery works that challenge the traditional role of the pearl.

In this chapter, I discuss my chosen materials in terms of their perceived cultural value, history, and

their visual qualities of colour. I discuss how I have used seashells collected in my fieldwork in

Broome, Western Australia, not as a material but as a starting point of the material research. Plastic

materials are used to recreate the shell forms. This research project aims to shift the perception of

plastic from a single use, throw-away material, to a precious material. Jewellery is traditionally made

of precious metals and holds value through memory and sentimentality. I have used plastics in place

of precious metals to change the view and use of plastic.

Anything other than precious metals and gemstones is considered an alternative material in gold and

6.1 MATERIAL VALUE

silversmithing practices. The use of plastics as a material in jewellery and art objects began when

plastics were first invented, initially early plastics were incorporated into costume jewellery to add

colour. Author Anna Ploszajski discusses the history of synthetic plastics within Handmade: A

Scientist’s Search for Meaning Through Making and states that ‘during the war it had even been

considered patriotic to support the plastics industry by wearing plastic jewellery, rather than taking

more precious materials like metals away from the war effort’ (Ploszajski, 2021, p.34).

In contemporary jewellery, the use of alternative materials is incorporated to question the commercial

and cultural value of the conventional materials of gold and silver. In my research, I use commodity

plastics and cultivated pearls. The history of both these materials is closely related to cultural and

monetary value. But one can only be produced by nature and the other completely by machine.

The materials I have chosen to challenge the hierarchical perception of traditional jewellery materials

and the common idea that only costume jewellery is made of plastic and that precious jewellery is

made of gold and gemstones. Value is even written in the language, with the terms precious metals

and semi-precious stones denoting their value. I believe that plastic should be seen in a similar light

as precious metals and that its use should not be as widespread as it has been and instead based on

its innovative qualities.

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I believe that if our cultural perception of plastic and the way it is used shifts from ‘single-use’ throw-

away items to precious objects, plastic pollution would be reduced, and plastic would be valued in the

same way as gold is valued. I see the value of plastic as a material similarly to (Ploszajsk, 2021,

p.164);

Which is the best plastic alternative? That’s the wrong question to ask. The solutions we seek

will lie less in the materials themselves and more in the way that we use them. Design reflects

society; single-use plastic is created from our demand for instant gratification and an easy life.

Changing ourselves is the only way we will change our material world.

Imagine plastic being made into objects to be treasured and passed down from generation to

generation, akin to family heirloom jewellery. ‘Single-use’ and non-recyclable soft plastics have a

destructive effect on the environment; if we change our mindset towards plastics, we can begin to

reduce the damage done. In my creative practice, I work with plastic in the same way as I would with

any precious material; I reduce waste through offcuts by positioning my templates and utilising the

waste materials. The polypropylene sheet I use in final works is vacuum formed to create new shell

forms. I then work with the remaining plastic from this process to create repetitive elements in other

works including Iridescent Parasite (2019 – 2021). Additionally, the remaining small off cuts of the

Figure 6.1: Katherine Hubble, Off cuts and tests of polypropylene, vinyl tint, vacuum formed, 2019.

thermoforming plastic I can’t use can be recycled.

6.2 COMMODITY PLASTICS

A key material used in my research is commodity plastics, specifically, polypropylene (PP). It was first

polymerised in 1954 and by 1957, it was in full-scale production. Polypropylene is a thermoplastic

polymer, meaning that it can be heated, and press moulded, or vacuum formed into shape.

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In the mid twentieth century, widespread mass-produced plastic products had a huge influence on the

Broome pearl shell industry, when cheap plastic buttons began to replace pearl shell buttons. This shift

shows a rise in cultural value for PPE plastics against the once revered pearls, mysteries of nature.

Questions of value are still embedded within the use of commodity plastics today. My research

investigates the relationship of the value of man-made vs natural materials through this creative tension

between pearls, pearl shell and contemporary plastics.

I use certain plastics for their translucent qualities, pairing iridescent and pearlescent pigments and

materials representative of nacre and skin. The iridescence quality of nacre is part of what has made

pearl shells a material connoting desire, wealth, and magic.

6.3 THE PEARL

The pearl was initially believed to have been created from a grain of sand trapped within an oyster. A

natural pearl is formed from an irritant or invader into the pearl oyster; many parasites have met their

ends, becoming trapped within their eternal sarcophagus that becomes a pearl. This natural process

has since been cultivated; a cultured pearl is now formed around a nucleus that is inserted by a pearl

technician into the gonad of the pearl oyster along with a donor mantle tissue. Both natural and

cultivated pearls are then covered in nacre secreted over time by the pearl oyster.

Australia is renowned for selling the finest and most revered pearls in the world, known as the

Australian South Sea Pearl, which is produced using the P. maxima. The juvenile shells are collected

from the seabed and placed into nets until they reach harvesting size then a bead made of nacre and

mantle tissue from a donor shell is placed inside the gonad. Over two years the shell creates a sac

around the bead and secretes nacre to surround the bead, forming a pearl. The pearling industry

grades the pearls by five different virtues — lustre, complexion, shape, colour, and size. The most

highly valued cultured pearls are the largest, most spherical, lustrous, smoothest, and whitest, with

pink undertones. The pearls that are too blistered and misshapen are not considered of much value in

the industry.

Within the final jewellery works I have chosen not to use Australian South Sea, pearls but freshwater

pearls for their smaller sizes, as pearls from the P. maxima do not come this small; also, freshwater

pearls are much more affordable, as they are mass produced and of lesser quality than the South Sea

pearl. The smaller size is used to mimic the seed-sized pearls found within the P. albina. I have also

chosen to represent the Australian South Sea pearl through vacuum-formed P. albina using materials

that duplicate the visual effects of a pearl’s lustre. A pearl’s lustre is due to the quality of nacre formed

by the pearl oyster that produced that pearl. The nacre of pearl and mother of pearl are one and the

same.

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6.4 SEASHELLS & MOTHER OF PEARL

The P. maxima is the largest species of bivalve mollusc. Found off the shores of most of the

northwest of Australia, this species can produce the finest quality of pearls in the world. The P.

maxima can be found in two colours: the silver-lipped oyster and the golden-lipped oyster. Commonly

referred to as mother of pearl, the scientific term is nacre, which is a natural iridescent surface. The

highest quality of nacre is found in the P. shell species. There are four species of this shell

classification found off the shores of Australia, ranging in size from smallest to largest: P. albina, P.

imbricata fucata, P. margaritifera and P. maxima.

The P. albina are located off the shore of Shark Bay in West Australia; following along the coast, the

P. grows larger in size until you reach the farthest northwest point, where the P. maxima is off the

coast. The shell was collected by means of beachcombing when quantities were plentiful before the

use of nets and boats was implemented by the 1870’s (Edwards & Yu, 2018). P. maxima is valued for

its lustrous white, iridescent nacre, and was sold overseas to be made into buttons. Nacre is formed

by many layers of calcium carbonate and conchiolin. Through a microscope you can see the many

Figure 6.2: Katherine Hubble, 2019–2021, Plastic Lustre Brooch Series, polypropylene, vinyl tint, acrylic, silver,

steel, dimensions variable. Image: Fred Kroh.

layers upon layers that create the strong interior shell that protects the soft, fleshy mollusc body.

Plastic Lustre Brooch Series (2019–2021) (Figure 6.2) is a group of brooches that began with the

investigation of contemporary materials and industrial processes to reimagine the traditional jewellery

motif of a shell. A selection of the shells collected from my fieldwork in Broome, Western Australia

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were the starting point for this series of works. The seashells are not used as a material in the finished

piece but are used in the mass production process of vacuum forming to create a plastic shell form to

represent the seashell. The brooches are bright, joyous works that captivate through the optical

illusion created in material experimentation and development. This series reflects and maps place and

my experience of the wonder and joy of creating a shell talisman as a wearable object.

My creative process begins with material experimentation. I wanted to preserve the precious

seashells, I collected for my research, and I chose not to use the shell itself as a material, but I

experimented to find contemporary materials that simulate the effect of mother of pearl’s rainbow-like

iridescence. Through the layering of different plastic materials, I was able to discover a way to reflect

light back through the works, creating an optical illusion. The works combine these contemporary

plastic materials and industrial processes in the context of the seashell’s long history within jewellery.

6.5 COLOUR & IRIDESCENCE

Colour is a fundamental human experience and central to our perception of the world. Colour can

influence the way we feel and evoke a visceral response. It resonates with our senses intellectually

and emotionally. But what is colour? In essence, colour is the reflection of light. How we understand

colour today is based on the work and experiments of physicist Sir Isaac Newton in Opticks: Or, a

Treatise of the Reflexions, Refractions, Inflexions and Colours of Light. His work showed that what we

see is light becoming absorbed or reflected on certain wavelengths that appear as colour in our brains

(Newton, 1704). In my research project, I have used colour as an emotive device using contemporary

materials as a simulacrum of nacre (pearl shell).

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Figure 6.3: Katherine Hubble, 2019, Juvenile Byssus, polypropylene, thermoforming plastic, vinyl tint, silver,

freshwater pearls, 250 x 250 x 70mm. Photo: Henry Trumble.

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Juvenile Byssus (2019) (Figure 6.3) is one of this research project’s first finalised jewellery works that

employs the combination of coloured plastic materials with the industrial process of vacuum forming.

This work is the result of heuristic research, evident in the experimentation and tests discussed later

in 9.0 creative work outcomes. Frosted polypropylene, clear thermoforming plastic and colourful

iridescent vinyl tint are employed for their visual qualities of translucent, luminous, and fluorescent

effects. These materials are also essential for the process of vacuum forming, but their iridescent

optics represent the connection to nacre (mother of pearl). The making of Juvenile Byssus (2019) and

its sequential material tests resulted in further investigations into colour and light for my material

choices.

Victoria Finlay, in Color; A Natural History of Palette (2002) introduces us to colour through Newton’s

theory and explains that colour is not physical, but energy, interpreted in our minds and translated into

visual colour. Finlay (2002, p. 4) explains: ‘The first challenge in writing about colors is that they don’t

really exist. Or rather they do exist, but only because our minds create them as an interpretation of

I found it interesting to think of colour, not as a substance, but as an event or an emotive energy

vibrations that are happening around us.’

experience. Finlay also goes on to explain the science of colour and atoms. ‘The best way I’ve found

of understanding this is to think not so much of something “being” a color but of it “doing” a color’

(Finlay 2002, p. 6). The experience of colour that Finlay explores has influenced this research project

in the coloured materials employed for the jewellery works. The intention of the jewellery, when

viewed in the gallery space or worn on the body, is to create this emotive colour experience of joy and

wonderment.

David Batchelor, in The Luminous and the Grey (2014 p.35) talks of colour in terms of industrial

colour vs natural colour. ‘There is a world of shiny, glossy, metallic, iridescent, fluorescent and

luminous colours out there; there are colours that glow, colours that flash and colours that change into

others as you look at them’.

Iridescence is an optical effect created through movement and light. It is a captivating natural

phenomenon and is seen in recognisable natural forms including beetles, feathers, gemstones,

butterfly wings, and seashells. Iridescence can be explained through the way we see light and in turn

colour. Light travels in waves and iridescence is found in nature when the light waves combine with

one another, known as interference; whereas iridescence is observed in man-made materials through

colour changes dependent on the viewed angle; this optical appearance is attributed to diffraction, the

bending of light waves.

In my final creative outcomes, I have used a plastic vinyl tint that displays this iridescent colour. It is

commonly found in the automotive industry and is used for decorative purposes such as car

headlights and windows. I have chosen this material for its visual effects, simulating the natural lustre

of nacre, and for its variety of colours, as they are representative of the bright colours of Broome, the

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sunsets, the blue waters, and the rich orange pindan earth. Pindan is the name given to the red

earthy sand local to the Kimberly area of Western Australia.

Before traveling to Broome, Western Australia, I was making samples which mimicked the qualities of

nacre (mother of pearl). Pearl pigments are also used in resin products and car paint to mimic the

iridescence and shimmer of pearl shells. Initial samples tested the use of these pearl pigments in

resin off-pour scraps that I layered together with sourced, iridescent, car headlight vinyl tint. These

layered material tests were the first use of this iridescent material. For the next samples, I used the

iridescent vinyl adhered to frosted polypropylene through the process of vacuum forming to create

synthetic copies of small pearl shells.

The influence of other colours within my work came from after my fieldwork in Broome. On the first

day there, I noticed the intensity of the colours in the landscape surrounding me. The colours of

orange and blue stood out everywhere to me; it was the pindan soil, sunsets, the sea, and the sky.

Then, on the second day at Willie Creek pearl farm, the colour orange appeared again, but this time

more sinister. It was the colour revealed by an erosive disease known as sponge erosion, that once

contracted by the oyster, the affected parts of the shell appear orange, and the shell is slowly

dissolved and eaten away. Additionally, colour was seen in the hatchery where algae are grown, the

feed for the oysters, contained in beakers, was neon orange and green with silver foil, black tubing,

and plastic syringes. The orange appeared again in seashells and the colour blue was always present

in the unwavering blue skies and in the ocean waters. The green and yellow were present within the

equipment used on board the pearling vessels and the pearl diver’s gear.

6.7 CONCLUSION

Within this chapter I have discussed the reasons behind my material choices and the themes leading

my research. This research project is fundamentally a material-based inquiry into the pearl and the

shell that creates the pearl. I have chosen an Australian perspective of the pearl with an inquiry into

the current cultivation methods of the Austrian South Sea pearl and the oyster that produces one, the

P. maxima.

This project aims to re-contextualise the role of the pearl and seashells within jewellery and

investigate new ways of reimagining pearl jewellery within the twenty first century. I discuss the final

materials selected for their perceived or inherent value. I have used a variety of commodity plastics in

combination with industrial processes. The implemented plastics are representative of the visual

qualities of pearl and nacre. Colour and iridescence play a key role in the material investigation and

experimentation. The use of hyper real colour is characteristic of my experience and encounter within

Western Australia, and the visited pearl farms within the region.

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7.0 FIELDWORK

In this chapter, I discuss a key part of my research — the fieldwork I conducted in the northwest of

Australia. The Australian South Sea pearl is regarded as the highest quality of cultivated pearl in the

world, the industry known for its production is conducted in the waters off the coast of the Northwest

of Australia. The town of Broome is rich in the history of the pearl shell industry that gave birth to the

Australian pearling industry that we know today. Here, I discuss each key day of the fieldwork through

journal notes in a biographical style, describing the experience of place and knowledge learnt from the

pearling industry.

‘Underpinning this research practice is the intention to understand at first-hand what is happening in

the particular field of study – to encounter that climate or environment’ (Pole & Hillyard, 2017, p.10).

The fieldwork I conducted while in the northwest enabled me to collect organic materials through

beach combing and purchasing shells from hatcheries. The collected specimens are the starting point

for my jewellery outcomes. The field trip also allowed me to see first-hand the cultivation and

harvesting techniques used within contemporary Australian South Sea pearl industries. The

unpredictable part of the fieldwork was the experience of place and the atmospheric landscapes that

are found in the northwest. These moments on the field trip have played a large role within the final

outcomes of the creative works.

Broome and the Dampier Peninsula journal notes

My flight from Perth to Broome was at dusk; as I flew into Broome, I could see through the tiny

window the most fluorescent red sunset I have ever seen. The sunset filled the plane with an orange

glow, suffusing everything in sight with amber. When I arrived, my mother was there to greet me. The

short drive from the airport into town was in the dark, and I was unable to see my surroundings and

the town until morning.

8 August 2019 / Day one: Discover Broome tour and Pearl Luggers tour

As I woke up, the morning sun was piercing through the shutters of the back doors. I walked outside

through the glass doors and stood, looking out onto mudflats covered in mangroves, with the tide

ebbing, revealing the red sands beneath. This is when I realised that the remote town of Broome

depends on its daylight and work is done from sunup to sundown.

That morning, we set off on our first tour of the day, which was the Discover Broome tour provided by

Willie Creek pearl farm. It became obvious that Broome and the pearling industries are dependent on

tourism for revenue. The town is seasonal and sees an influx of tourists during the dry season. The

tour bus drove us around the town of Broome, detailing how a lot of the development around the area

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is due to tourism, and how the town’s population fluctuates with extreme seasonal weather changes.

Summer in the Northern Territory is known as the ‘wet season’ and is extremely muggy, with cyclones

and weather warnings. The Winter is known as the ‘dry season’ this is the optimal time of year for

visitors and pearl harvesting. The town of Broome and surrounding area is a mass of land that darts

out from the mainland although still attached, creating a divide between Cable Beach, the resort,

touristy side of town, with its pristine white limestone stretch of sands, and Roebuck Bay, the historical

and local part of town with the old pearler’s jetties and mudflats. Broome developed with the pearl

Figure 7.1: Katherine Hubble, Roebuck Bay, Broome, Western Australia, 8 August 2019, 10am

shell industry dating back to the 1880s.

At the edge of town, looking out at the Indian Ocean, is the original lighthouse located at Minyirr

(Gantheaume Point), where the red dirt meets the sea. The Yawuru word for the red sand is pindan,

which contains iron ore layered with limestone. This location is captivating because of the

combination of layered block colours, the light blue sky, the deep blue sea, and the red earth. Minyirr

is an important cultural site for the Yawuru people.

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Figure 7.2: Katherine Hubble, Gantheaume Point (Minyirr), Broome, Western Australia, 8 August 2019, 12pm

We also visited Roebuck Bay, the original port for the pearl luggers across the mudflats, where once,

lugger boats were lined upside by side as far as the eye could see, but now the area has been taken

over by the mangroves. Only the very start of the original Luggers jetty remains. The town was built

close to the shore as if it was designed for the pearl masters and luggers to live and work here. There

are some of the original sheds and town buildings still standing. The sheds were used to pack and

sort the pearl shell into wooden boxes that were then shipped overseas for buttons.

The town located right on the edge of the mud flats becomes extremely quiet and still as the sun falls.

You can hear and see the bats flying over as the last pink skies disappear and the town becomes

dark. This is when I realised just how much this isolated landscape depends on the sun and that the

town and its people live and work sunup to sundown.

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Figure 7.3: Roebuck Bay, Broome, Western Australia, 8 August 2019, 7pm

9 August 2019 / Day Two: Willie Creek farm tour

My second day began early when the sun rose, with a short drive out of Broome along a red dirt road.

This was my first experience south of the town of Broome, seeing what the bush looks like in this

remote part of the world. There were large Boab trees and native plants I had not seen before with

flowers resembling hummingbirds and tasting like snow peas. The red pindan road is a wide path

cleared of bush that travels north into the Dampier Peninsula. The bush surrounding me was vast but

low. It reminded me of other parts of Western Australia’s coastal bush, unlike eastern states'

bushlands. The bushlands here are low because of the sand-like soil and extreme weather conditions

such as cyclones. A huge part of this landscape that has stayed in my mind is the large termite

mounds throughout these bushlands. They were as tall as me or larger, made up of the rich red

pindan soil.

Once we were through the heavily corrugated dirt road, there was a salt flat that had to be carefully

traversed, as in high tide, the water comes across and can leave the flat hard to travel across by

vehicle. Once through, it was only a short drive along the creek to the home base of Willie Creek pearl

farm.

This location seemed to have been created as a tourist destination close to their pearl farm out at sea

off Eighty Mile Beach. Here they have their hatchery where they grow algae for their pearl oysters,

and in the creek waters, they keep the pearl oysters infected with sponge erosion, most of which are

on death row as part of the tour as the sponge erosion is too far progressed; they kill the animal by

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pulling apart the abductor muscle, opening the shell to reveal a cultivated pearl encased within the

gonad. During pearl harvesting season, the pearl oysters are not killed but carefully operated on to

produce more than one pearl in a lifetime, but these pearl oysters are terminally diseased.

The tour guide described how the hatchery cultivates its oysters into adulthood and how a pearl is

formed once implanted inside the oyster; but what remains an industry secret is how the technician

operates on the oyster. Part of the tour was also on the water, where they pulled up some oyster

lines, demonstrating the cleaning and flipping processes in cultivation. As I learnt more about the

modern techniques and procedures in Australian pearl oyster farming, I realised how challenging and

Figure 7.4: P. maxima and silver keshi pearl, Willie Creek Pearl Farm, Western Australia, 9 August 2019, 11am

reliant it is on the health of this country and its ocean waters.

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Figure 7.5: P. maxima housed in nets, Willie Creek Pearl Farm, Western Australia, 9 August 2019, 11am

The pearl farm tour ended in a helicopter flight to look at the surrounding area, travelling along Willie

Creek to the ocean across the salt flats and limestone white sand beaches. We went as far as where

Barred Creek meets the Indian Ocean, searching for whales, wild horses and the three crocodiles that

call this northwest corner of the country home. The large tides of this area reveal pristine white sand

banks scattered across the sea line, and far in the distance, past the limestone rock, native beach

shrubbery, and salt flats, I could see a stripe of the rich red pindan that is the dirt road.

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Figure 7.6: Willie Creek Pearl Farm taken from a helicopter, Willie Creek, Western Australia, 9 August 2019, 1pm

10 August 2019 / Day three: Courthouse markets and Chinatown

It was a Saturday morning, and the local Courthouse market was filled with locals and tourists

enjoying a very beautiful warm morning. From the market it was a short walk into China Town, the

shopping district of Broome, still with its historic buildings from the pearling days and the infamous

Jonny Chi Lane, which used to be filled with brothels, gambling, and opium dens. The lawless, early

pioneer days of Broome hold many tales of violence, treasure, and cultural diversity. The hunt for the

largest pearl shell in the world and the riches it could bring to the lucky few that found its natural

pearls brought men from Europe, Japan, China, Malay, and the Philippines. This rich meeting of

cultures has left the town with many traces of this history, making Broome a unique and very special

place.

The town is now filled with pearl jewellery showrooms and tourist gift shops. Closer to the mangroves

and water, there are original sheds and the jetty that once housed mountains of pearl shell ready to

be boxed and shipped overseas. The sheds are abandoned and boarded up, the jetty is no longer in

use and is now swallowed by the mangroves.

11 August 2019 / Day four: Barred Creek

A family friend who lives in Broome drove us to Barred Creek the next day, a journey recommended

by someone familiar with the area. It was an off-road four-wheel drive onto the Pindan dirt road from

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yesterday but taking Manari Road further north. At the turnoff from the asphalt road that connects

Broome to Derby was a faded old tourist Information map sign peppered with bullet holes from

hunters, with the road we would be traveling down marked by a faint dotted line. The entrance where

we turned off the heavily corrugated dirt road was a steep, hilly, white sand beach terrain bordering on

the Indian Ocean.

We finally arrived at the shoreline; the sand was completely flat and stretched for miles. It was the

perfect beach for shell collection, and the tide was moving out so fast, we could see the tide lines

rippling in the sand. The water moves at such a pace it creates patterns within the shallow waters,

ripple lines and miniature waves that glitter with sunlight. The ocean water was warmer than any

ocean I had been in before. This allows all the species that inhabit these waters to enjoy nutrient rich

warm waters for food and growth.

The creek stems inward off the point of a one-hundred-and-thirty-year-old coral reef that was once

underwater but is now a limestone sand hill and is home to three local crocodiles. The connecting sea

Figure 7.7: Barred Creek taken from helicopter, Barred Creek, Western Australia, 9 August 2019, 1pm.

is a little safer to swim in, but not out too far, as that’s where sharks roam.

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Figure 7.8: Barred Creek connecting beach, Western Australia, 11 August 2019, 12pm

Figure 7.9: Barred Creek connecting beach, Western Australia, 11 August 2019, 12pm

12 August 2019 / Day five: Travel through the Dampier Peninsula Kooljaman (Cape Leveque), Cygnet

Bay, One Arm Point and Beagle Bay

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Traveling out of the town of Broome means leaving asphalt roads and streetlights behind; the journey

is taken by four-wheel drive on wide, bush-cleared orange sand dirt roads. Travel further north in the

past would have been taken by boat, but now is a single dirt road where the sand is rippled by the

wind, a scarcely used path. The wind causes the sand to move, creating speed bumps for kilometres;

this is known as the Kimberley massage. We were traveling through the Dampier Peninsula to reach

Kooljaman (Cape Leveque).

First stop within the Dampier Peninsula was Beagle Bay Community, where a pearl shell altar and

Sacred Heart Church are located. The church was built by the Aboriginal community after the arrival

of Palatine’s missionaries from Germany and the sisters of St John of God from Ireland (Edwards &

Yu, 2018). Once the church was built in 1917 it was a group of Aboriginal women that decorated the

interior and altar of the Church under the German priest’s direction. The church was decorated with

local shells, including mother of pearl, cowrie, and trochus snail shell, a historic collaboration of

Figure 7.10 Sacred Heart Church, Beagle Bay, Western Australia, 12 August 2019, 11am

Western religion and Aboriginal art.

Further travel north led us to Cygnet Bay, where a third-generation pearl farmer leases the land from

Bardi man, Bruce Wiggan. Bruce is a traditional Riji carver and artist in residence at Cygnet Bay Pearl

Farm. Riji is a carved pearl shell used within traditional northwest Aboriginal ceremonies. Riji can only

be carved by men and passes down through generations, telling stories of creation.

The Cygnet Bay Pearl farm tour guides explained their cultivating processes and how working with P.

Maxima was a collaboration between them and the living organism.

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We then travelled up to One Arm Point, a Bardi Jaawi community, where we had the privilege of

travelling through to reach a local hatchery located along the water. It is run by Bardi man, Russell

‘Wozzy’ Davey Jooda, who also carves Riji for Bardi men to wear during traditional dance

ceremonies. The Ardyaloon Trochus Hatchery & Aquaculture Centre is an Indigenous fishery that

produces the shell Trochus for its mother of pearl quality. The hatchery also contains lapidary

equipment for the workers to carve the trochus shell to create jewellery and reveal the shell's mother

of pearl quality. It is a jewellery studio in the most beautiful location in the world, an open-air workshop

Figure 7.11: Trochus shell cutting and polishing at Ardyaloon Trochus Hatchery & Aquaculture Centre, One Arm Point, Western Australia, 12 August 2019, 1pm

Figure 7.12: Trochus shell at Ardyaloon Trochus Hatchery & Aquaculture Centre, One Arm Point, Western Australia, 12 August 2019, 1pm

looking out to the warm waters of the Timor Sea.

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Our last destination of the trip was Kooljaman (Cape Leveque), where the two surrounding Aboriginal

communities of Djarindjin and Ardyaloon have ownership of the land, maintaining its cultural

importance and preserving their spiritual connection to the place. The side of Kooljaman that faces

the Indian Ocean is famously known for its red rock that meets the bright blue sea. When you walk

along its white limestone sandy coast, you realise how isolated you are in this part of the world and

how unique this part of Australia really is. I was born and grew up in Perth, Western Australia, and

now I was standing very close to the top of WA — but I felt like this was not my home. I felt honoured

to be standing close to sacred land with so much rich history. The drive back to Broome ended with

Figure 7.13: Kooljaman, Western Australia, 12 August 2019, 4pm

the sun setting and the Pindan sand road leading home.

13 August 2019 / Day 6: Broome Museum & Historical Society

The Broome Museum & Historical Society is housed around an original sail maker’s shed from

Broome’s booming pearling days. The museum is filled with historic carved objects made of mother of

pearls that tell of Broome's pearling history. The museum houses Riji (Aboriginal carved pearl shell),

Japanese carved pearl shell, Chinese pearl shell gambling chips, and European carved cutlery. The

combination of these cultural objects reflects Broome’s cultural heritage from the booming pearl shell

days.

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Figure 7.14: Sail Maker Shed, Broome Museum & Historical Society, Western Australia, 13 August 2019, 2pm

14 August 2019 / Day 7: Beach to Bay tour with Bart Pigram (Yawuru man)

The Beach to Bay tour from Roebuck Bay to Reddell Beach is a three-hour tour led by Yawuru man

Bart Pigram; he shares traditional Yawuru dreaming stories and the history of the Yawuru people. The

bay part of the tour took place on the town beach side of Broome, right next to the Mangrove Hotel.

Bart showed us a site where sand dunes covered with shells remained from food sources collected

from before European settlement. The large sand dunes provided the perfect lookout over the mud

flats and mangroves. Bart also shared dreaming and creation stories of this location and the Broome

Figure 7.15: Roebuck Bay, Western Australia, 14 August 2019, 3pm

mud flats.

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The beach part of this journey was Reddell Beach, the opposite side of Broome; the entrance to the

beach is hidden behind an industrial area. As the day is setting, the low tides reveal fossilised

dinosaur footprints. It was a real privilege to have this ancient Yawuru knowledge shared by Bart, with

stories of the dreaming involving the fossilised footprints. Navigating this secluded beach with the

water magically revealing traces of its pre-human existence made me realise how ancient this land

truly is. The setting sun illuminated the sand and red rocks, creating a real dream-like atmosphere.

We collected trochus shells that were left behind in rock pools as the tide went out. Bart cooked these

Figure 7.16: Trochus Shells, Reddell Beach, Western Australia, 14 August 2019, 6pm

Figure 7.17: Trochus Shells, Reddell Beach, Western Australia, 14 August 2019, 6pm

for us on a fire.

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15th August 2019 / Day 8: Minyirr – Gantheaume Point, Reddell South Beach

I decided that I wanted to return to two locations that I had visited to take photos with some of the

jewellery works I had finished before my trip. First, I returned to Minyirr (Gantheaume Point) where I

took photographs on the rocks and took silicon putty moulds of the rock formations. Then I went back

to Reddell beach to photograph my jewellery in the rockpools and the moving tides.

I took with me to Broome two brooches and two necklaces that I wanted to photograph within the

landscape. I chose to return to Minyirr (Gantheaume Point) because of the rocky landscape of orange

pindan mixed with white limestone. Minyirr is an important cultural site for Aboriginal people. This is a

sacred and spiritual place known for its protective and healing qualities.

The rocks that I chose to place my works upon acted as plinths. The image of the Iridescent Parasite

at Minyirr (Gantheaume Point) shows the necklace in sunlight and shadow, highlighting the iridescent

quality of the material. The necklace looks like it has emerged from the unfamiliar landscape, as if the

Figure 7.18: Katherine Hubble, Sunbathing Iridescent Parasite, 2019, polypropylene, vinyl tint, nylon thread, freshwater pearls, 35 x 30 x 5 cm, photographed at Gantheaume Point, 15 August 2019, 2pm

viewer has come across this wormlike creature sunbaking on a rock.

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16th August 2019 / Day 9: Staircase to the Moon and night market

While in Broome I was lucky to see the natural phenomenon known as ‘Staircase to the Moon’ which

only occurs in Broome on a full moon between March and October each year. As the full moon rises,

the sun sets, and the tide is out over the mud flats; the large orange moon casts a reflection onto the

tidal flats, creating the illusion of a ladder climbing to the moon. As the full moon rises and the large

sun sets off the west coast, the sun and moon resemble two perfectly spherical pearls in the sky. The

sun is akin to a gold-coloured South Sea pearl that is formed by the Golden Lipped pearl oyster, and

the moon is akin to the white Australian South Sea pearl formed from the Silver Lipped pearl oyster.

The silver moon turns bright orange from the sun’s reflection and a new sky pearl is created that could

only be born from a fictional neon orange-lipped pearl oyster.

The whole town comes to sit along the foreshore of Town Beach and eagerly watch as the sun sets,

the tide runs out, and the moon begins to rise. The largest orange moon I have ever seen slowly rises

and the countdown begins. Then suddenly, the natural light phenomenon occurs, the staircase to the

Figure 7.19: Town Beach, Broome, Western Australia, 16 August 2019, 7pm

moon. A crisp stripe of light is reflected onto the mud flats, creating the illusion of a staircase.

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8.0 IDEA DEVELOPMENT / EXPERIMENTATION

In this chapter, I will be discussing the heuristic process of my jewellery making and the journey taken

through material tests. Prior to undertaking my fieldwork in Broome, I had begun a series of drawings

and material-based experiments to explore the different formal and material qualities of pearls and

shells. I did not want to control what the research outcomes would be before conducting my fieldwork,

but I knew I wanted to have first-hand experience of the Australian pearling industry and its history to

guide my exploration of these themes in the final jewellery outcomes. The research objective is to

discover how I can challenge or reimagine what pearl jewellery could look like today. The fieldwork

investigating the Australian pearling industry is used to reimagine the pearl through my creative practice, and to reinterpret the archetypal motif of the shell.

Upon returning from my fieldwork, I continued my drawing and material exploration by closely looking

at the collected shells and photos taken while I was visiting the pearl farms and cultural sites.

8.1 DRAWING BEFORE AND AFTER FIELDWORK

Figure 8.1: Katherine Hubble, Pearl Necklace Watercolour, 2018, work on paper, 290 x 430mm.

Drawing is an important part of my practice in documenting the materials collected in my fieldwork

and developing this research. The initial drawings, watercolour paintings and fieldwork informed large

final drawing works.

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Craft Artist and author Kyra Cane (2012) discusses the importance of drawing to making practices

within Making & Drawing; ‘Drawing is a fundamental part of creative practice. Its many roles range

from being part of the exploration process that encourages ideas to flow, to forming the basis of a

Figure 8.2: Katherine Hubble, Watercolour shell study made prior to fieldwork, 2018, work on paper, 290 x 430mm.

critical framework in which outcomes are evaluated’ (Cane 2012, p. 7).

Prior to traveling to Western Australia in my studio in Melbourne, I created drawings using

watercolours and line drawing to help me think about the texture, colour, and form of the shell. This

initial study assisted me in discovering that the rough organic exterior is just as alluring as the inside.

This process allowed me to plan how I might document the shells in the field. I realised that through

drawing and using a visual diary and archival system I might be able to identify the unique qualities of

each shell.

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Figure 8.3: Katherine Hubble, small chainmail mesh study made prior to fieldwork, 2018, ink on paper, 290 x 430mm.

I also experimented with drawing the nets used within the pearling industry, by looking at images

available on the internet. I created an initial drawing series of chainmail netting used for fishing gloves

and in suits to protect the divers from sharks. Chainmail is a series of jump rings linked together in a

particular sequential pattern to create larger forms. A ‘jump ring’ is a jewellery industry term used for

the wire links created when making a chain. I began thinking about the connections between the

chainmail used here in the pearling industry and the traditional chain making techniques used in

studio jewellery.

After returning from Broome, I began creating watercolour and ink line drawings of each of the shells I

had collected and pearl shells I had purchased while in Broome and the Dampier Peninsula. These

works on paper are collated in a visual diary to create a personal shell journal.

I collected: fifty- five shell specimens from Barred Creek beach (17°40'08.2"S 122°11'35.4"E); eleven

shell specimens from Town Beach (Roebuck Bay), Broome (17°58'18.1"S 122°14'09.2"E); four shell

specimens from Reddell Beach, Minyirr (17°59'24.1"S 122°11'35.9"E); and six shell specimens from

Kooljaman (Cape Leveque), Dampier Peninsula (16°23'36.0"S 122°55'50.2"E). I purchased eight

pearl shell specimens from Willie Creek Pearl Farm (17°45'40.8"S 122°12'52.7"E), and one shell

specimen from One Arm Point Trochus Hatchery and Aquarium, Dampier Peninsula (16°26'14.8"S

123°04'32.6''E).

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Figure 8.4: Collected seashells and organic materials from Barred Creek, 11 August 2019, 5pm

Figure 8.5: Purchased seashells from Western Australia, arranged into size order akin to a pearl necklace.

Each collected and purchased specimen was documented through ink on paper and watercolour

drawing as a visual study and understanding of their form, texture, and colour qualities. This initial

study allowed me to connect with each collected shell more intimately and gave me an appreciation

for its individual natural beauty.

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Figure 8.6: Katherine Hubble, Shell Study 2019, pencil, and watercolour, 150gsm paper, Shell Study Journal p.5, 210 x 265mm

Figure 8.7: Katherine Hubble, Shell Study 2019, pencil, watercolour, 150gsm paper, Shell Study Journal p.2, 210 x 265mm

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Figure 8.8: Katherine Hubble, Shell Study 2019, pencil, watercolour, 150gsm paper, Shell Study Journal p.9, 210 x 265mm

Figure 8.9: Katherine Hubble, Shell Study 2020, Archival ink, 150gsm paper, Shell Study Journal p.31, 210 x 265mm.

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Figure 8.10: Katherine Hubble, Shell Study 2019, Archival Ink, 150gsm paper, Shell Study Journal p.4, 210 x 265mm.

Figure 8.11: Katherine Hubble, Shell Study 2019, Archival Ink, 150gsm paper, Shell Study Journal p.3, 210 x 265mm.

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8.2 MATERIAL EXPERIMENTATION

I see the way that I test material qualities through samples as a way of research through making. I

explore each chosen material’s limitations, strengths, and performance with techniques such as

fusing, sewing, setting, layering, and covering. I found parallels in my work to the approach outlined

by Anna Ploszajski within Handmade: A Scientist’s Search for Meaning Through Making (2021,

p.163);

A series of iterations follows, fine-tuning the temperature, the pattern, the stretch and the

thickness of the material substrate. By trial and error, I inch closer to success, a pile of

discarded attempts mounting on the benchtop.

In my methodology I quote Bachelard’s discussion of shell materials, where enamel and ceramic

materials represent the shell through their lustre, gloss, and sheen. Here the ceramists or enamellists

are drawn to the surface qualities that these materials represent (see p.33). I have found that I am

drawn to plastic as it holds the same shell-like properties. The polypropylene and applied vinyl tint I

have chosen to work with mimics the qualities of nacre in its feel and the rainbow iridescence it refracts.

In addition to drawings and watercolours, I have worked with natural and man-made materials. These

material choices have enabled me to explore the shell and representations of the shell. Material tests

and samples are made using the collected shell specimen. The shell is not the final material but is

used within my making processes.

While on my fieldwork, I used the process of silicon mould making to make impressions of barnacles

growing on bricks and rocks that were revealed as the tide went out on the mudflats of Roebuck Bay.

This process enabled me to bring these textures back into the studio, to be further worked within

samples. In the studio the plastic material of resin is used to fill these silicon moulds, and this helped

me to understand further the connections between the use of mould making process and the creation

of new shell forms.

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Figure 8.12: Silicon mould, Roebuck Bay, Western Australia, 15 August 2019, 12pm

Back in Melbourne, I used the collected seashells in the process of vacuum forming, which is used to

create a plastic skin copy of an original object. I have used this process to create multiple copies of

one shell. These multiple copies made of different plastics are tested through layering to create

optical effects caused by the reflection of light.

The multiple formed plastic shells were also used with jewellery mechanism samples to investigate

how this material might best be incorporated into jewellery objects. I used 3D CAD software in

creating jewellery findings and fittings. The 3D printed resin fittings were further worked using

traditional gold and silversmithing techniques of surface polishing and cold joining with rivets to hold

the plastic vacuum formed shells in place within the final work. I recorded the material samples, and

the results of these tests can be seen in the final works.

Material choice and experimentation was the starting point of my creative practice and research.

Material tests one through to six began with a series of plastic materials gathered from the domestic

environment, these included bubble wrap, plastic pack rings, sequins, fine plastic thread, plastic

loafer, and beads. I selected these materials for their iridescent qualities and plastic properties. The

experimentation with these materials explored techniques of beading, threading, layering, and

weaving as potential methods and forms to be used in the final works. I chose not to continue with

many of these materials in the final works, but the investigation into iridescent plastic materials was

continued further.

Material tests seven to fourteen explore the potential of using found/sourced shells as the starting

point for replication or reproduction into another material. I had sourced P. imbricata radiata (a small

pearl shell species) from Shark Bay, West Australia. The shells are a by-product of the pearling

industry, as they are thinner and more brittle than the P. maxima. The shells were not used for mother

of pearl buttons, but they do produce small golden seed pearls. These tests resulted in the first final

jewellery outcomes for my research. The research shifted after the creation of this series of brooches,

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but the material experimentation contributed with ways of reproducing the shells in plastic resin forms

rather than using the shell within the work.

Material test fifteen was a breakthrough for the practice-based research; I found iridescent vinyl

adhesive tint that is used for automotive decoration on headlights. Tests twenty-two to twenty-four

explored the combination of this material adhered to thermoforming plastic or frosted polypropylene

and used with vacuum forming the P. imbricata radiata. The combination of these contemporary

plastic materials and process of vacuum forming are integral to the development of several final

jewellery outcomes. Tests sixteen to twenty-one explored jewellery techniques for connecting the

shells to a form. Test twenty-five to twenty-nine explored the process of 3D printing, creating forms

Picture & Figure

Materials

Notes

Sample # and Year Test 1, 2018

Six Pack rings, plastic thread, sequins, and beads.

Using a found plastic six-pack beer can ring, I began embellishing it with sequins and clean beads, using a clear plastic thread. I then joined the ends of the plastic six pack to create a cylinder form with the embellishment on the inside. I used this commodity plastic because of the well-known damage that it has caused marine wildlife, turning dangerous trash to a treasured craft object. The use of iridescent sequins emulates the scales on a fish and the bodily quality of the plastic suggests an exoskeleton structure of a new-found sea creature’s remains.

Figure 8.13: Katherine Hubble, Test 1, 2018

Test 2, 2018

Shower loofah, sequins, beads, felt and thread.

Using a piece of pink felt and placing it into pink shower loofah material, I embellished the combined materials with iridescent sequins and clear beads, using a clear plastic thread. I folded the fabric in half and stitched it together making a cylinder. As the piece was taking shape it reminded me of a headless prawn or a piece of coral or a strange fish. One end is folded and tube like, so I sequined the inside creating a sinking hole effect.

Figure 8.14: Katherine Hubble, Test 2, 2018

made of 3D printed resin using new technologies (Figure 8.38).

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Test 3, 2018

Sequins, resin, and moulding clay.

Figure 8.15: Katherine Hubble, Test 3, 2018

Using fluorescent orange moulding clay, I began by making a mound. Then, using rectangular iridescent sequins, I pressed the edges into the moulding clay, layering as I went to cover the mound. Then, using resin, I poured it over to stick the sequins together. Once the resin was set, I scooped out the moulding clay, leaving some traces of fluorescent orange. The resin chemically reacted with the clay, causing it to bubble. The layers of iridescent sequins mimic the microscopic view of nacre. Nacre is formed by many layers of calcium carbonate and conchiolin. The layers of sequins grow shell-like, forming growth lines, layered to create its final form. A handmade shell.

Figure 8.16: Katherine Hubble, Test 3, 2018

Test 4, 2018

Bubble wrap, sequins, and thread.

Using shell-shaped iridescent plastic sequins, I embellished a sheet of bubble wrap. Then, by rolling it up, I created inner padding for the form. The overlapping shell sequins create the appearance of fish scales. The object also suggests a sea cucumber or trepang.

Figure 8.17: Katherine Hubble, Test 4, 2018

Test 5, 2018

Abalone shell and plastic iridescent thread.

Using a tiny abalone shell I collected off the coast off Western Australia and decorative, iridescent blue plastic filler shreds as materials for this sample, I began to thread the plastic strips through the abalone holes. I wanted the strips to look like mother of pearl hair sprouting from the tiny shell, with the iridescence contrasting with the shell’s rough beige exterior.

Figure 8.18: Katherine Hubble, Test 5, 2018

Test 6, 2018

PVC, polypropylene, vinyl, and plastic iridescent thread.

This sample tested the flexibility of a few plastic materials that I had purchased because of their variegated iridescent and translucent qualities. The materials chosen were PVC, polypropylene, and vinyl, used in the woven section. Threaded into the fringe hanging from the woven cylinder are polyester and foil threads. I also discovered, through photographing this sample, that the variegated background colour changed the way the iridescent materials were viewed.

Figure 8.19: Katherine Hubble, Test 6, 2018

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Test 7, 2018

Resin, pearls, and silicon.

I made a silicone mould from a freshwater bivalve shell and then used resin to cast the two halves of the shell; while the resin was setting, I placed freshwater pearls in the resin. Once set, I then glued the two sides together and poured over the silicone mixed with a lustre. I thought through how to make these three-dimensional objects to include the pearls and dripping silicone. The silicone held the two sides together but was structurally not strong enough to last.

Figure 8.20: Katherine Hubble, Test 7, 2018

Test 8, 2018

Resin, pearls, and silicon.

This was made from a larger mussel shell from a silicone mould. Again, it used two moulds from both sides of the resin shell cast with freshwater pearls cast into the resin. After the two sides were glued together, I poured the silicone over, mixed with lustre to create the drips. Having the shell more closed creates more mystery to the pearls. Too much resin made this sample very heavy and unwearable, more of an object than an ornament. The larger scale of this shell and the soft flesh pink tone invited me to investigate further.

Figure 8.21: Katherine Hubble, Test 8, 2018

Resin and silicon.

Test 9, 2018

This sample comes from a West Australian P. fucata, commonly known as the Akoya pearl oyster. I joined two halves after resin casting then gluing multiple shells together to create a shell cluster. This reminded me of seeing the shell clusters growing on rocks along the beaches. I imagine multiples of these being cast and joining them up to create mass clusters around the neck or body. The shells are representative of the female body.

Figure 8.22: Katherine Hubble, Test 9, 2018

Resin and silicon.

Test 10 2018

Grouping more shells together for this sample, I considered a larger composition to create a brooch. I have used different colours in the resin and combined the shells. If the piece was all in one mould the colours would be added in different stages. Having all the half shells just glued together and the silicone holding it together is not durable.

Figure 8.23: Katherine Hubble, Test 10, 2018

Test 11 2018

Resin and silicon.

This is the final sample before making the final brooch. I first glued together the two halves of the P. fucata and glued them into this cluster form. To create the base for the brooch back, I used play dough to look like the rock form that the shells are clustered into. Then the whole piece was made from one silicon mould, making the structure stronger. I can pour and mix different colours into the one mould, layering them as I go.

Figure 8.24: Katherine Hubble, Test 11, 2018

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Test 12 & 13 2018

Resin, silicon, and iridescent vinyl tint.

Figure 8.25: Katherine Hubble, Test 12, 2018

Samples made from leftover resin pours, used in making my shell cluster brooches. I would pour any leftover resin into spare silicon moulds of shells that I had and leave a thin layer of resin in the plastic cups. Once the resin was curing in the cups, I pulled it out while still malleable enough to stretch and flop. I would start to layer all these resin remains upon each other creating these treasures from waste material. The texture from the ridges on the plastic cups are like growth lines of a bivalve shell. The resins used combined with lustre and colour pigments to imitate the natural iridescence of nacre and placed upon a black background, show through.

Figure 8.26: Katherine Hubble, Test 13, 2018

Resin

Test 14 2018

This sample is layers of left-over resin poured into a mussel shell silicone mould. I also added scrap resin pulled from plastic cups and pressed these into the shell mould. This created a more creature-like effect as the mussel came to life. The freshwater bivalve mussel opens slightly when mating; the female absorbs the male semen to fertilise the eggs. She then lures a fish close enough to attach the larvae onto its gills. This lure she uses sticks out of the shell and looks like a tiny fish.

Figure 8.27: Katherine Hubble, Test 14, 2018

Test 15 2019

Polypropylene and iridescent vinyl tint.

Sample testing vacuum formed shells. Here I vacuum formed a small Australian species of pearl shell from Shark Bay. I chose four slightly varying sizes and paired them up to have both sides of the shell. I cut them out of the plastic and scored the join or hinge section of the bivalve so that I could fold the shell. I also experimented with applying a vinyl tint to the polypropylene before vacuum forming to achieve the lustrous material quality.

Figure 8.28: Katherine Hubble, Test 15, 2019

Test 16 2019

Thermoforming plastic, iridescent vinyl tint and silver.

After creating the vacuum-formed shells, I needed to figure out how these would be joined using jewellery mechanisms. The shells are two prongs set with a jewellery post in the centre to adhere a pearl. A jump ring is also used to connect the settings, creating movement.

Figure 8.29: Katherine Hubble, Test 16, 2019

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Test 17 2019

Using a vacuum formed plastic shell held in place with a pearl post onto a chain made of copper and mother of pearl.

Polypropylene, copper, mother of pearl and freshwater pearl.

Figure 8.30: Katherine Hubble, Test 17, 2019

Test 18 2019

Polypropylene, freshwater pearls and nylon thread.

Using the vacuum formed polypropylene with the technique of pearl threading to connect the shell forms together.

Figure 8.31: Katherine Hubble, Test 18, 2019

Test 19 2019

Investigating another way of joining the vacuum- formed shells and pearls by creating a silver chain made of jump rings and bar sections to clamp down the shells and post for the pearl to be adhered to.

Polypropylene, iridescent vinyl tint, thermoforming plastic, silver, and freshwater pearls.

Figure 8.32: Katherine Hubble, Test 19, 2019

Test 20 2019

Fine silver wire and seed freshwater pearls.

With this sample, I tested the ability of the pearls to be woven into a mesh net shape. This sample is very flexible in form and time consuming to create in a larger size. I wanted to experiment with creating frame/net like structures for the vacuum-formed shells to be attached to. When weaving this sample, I was thinking about the fishing net baskets made to place the collected shells in when collected off the ocean floor.

Figure 8.33: Katherine Hubble, Test 20, 2019

Test 21 2019

Mother of pearl Buttons

Figure 8.34: Katherine Hubble, Test 21, 2019

Using mother of pearl buttons, I explored using the natural shell to create a net-like structure. This mimics the way chainmail is created from a series of metal jump rings joined together using specific patterns. I used two different sizes of buttons to create this test and split the larger buttons to join the rings together. The shell was too thin and curved to sit flat, causing it to be very fragile and unwearable unless held in place by a frame structure. I was trying to create a jewellery’s net by using the traditional metalsmith techniques of chainmail.

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Test 22 2019

Vacuum-formed shells with orange iridescent vinyl tint, one on the outside, one on the inside.

Polypropylene and iridescent vinyl tint.

Figure 8.35: Katherine Hubble, Test 22, 2019

Test 23 2019

Samples made of iridescent vinyl tint adhered to frosted polypropylene and used to vacuum form small pearl shells, then scored and folded, with the tint on the inside. This needs to be placed face down when using the vacuum former.

Polypropylene and iridescent vinyl tint. Yellow, blue, green, and light blue.

Figure 8.36: Katherine Hubble, Test 23, 2019

Test 24 2019

Polypropylene and iridescent orange vinyl tint.

Testing how each shell could be connected by not cutting them apart from the original vacuum-formed sheet. The row of shells is scored down the centre so it can be folded in half and shaped round.

Figure 8.37: Katherine Hubble, Test 24, 2019

Test 25 2019

A vacuum-formed shell held into place by a 3D printed resin element that is riveted and threaded onto elastic.

Polypropylene, iridescent orange vinyl tint, 3D print resin, silver, and elastic.

Figure 8.38: Katherine Hubble, Test 25, 2019

3D printed resin.

Test 26 2020

3D printed resin tests for new sized tube threading, testing three different sizes of selections to allow for different shell sizes. Also testing the thickness of each bead tube; what is too thin will crack and too thick looks cumbersome.

Figure 8.39: Katherine Hubble, Test 26, 2020

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Test 27 2020

3D printed resin, PVC pipe, polypropylene, iridescent vinyl tint and silver.

To transform the shell into bead, the two halves are inserted into the 3D printed resin and silver rivets, which hold the polypropylene in place. The new bead form is then threaded onto PVC pipe and riveted onto the PVC.

Figure 8.40: Katherine Hubble, Test 27, 2020

3D printed resin and PVC pipe.

Test 28 2020

3D printed test of a catch mechanism with 2mm wall thickness. This was too thin and broke. Too small to fit with other 3D sections in the neckpiece.

Figure 8.41: Katherine Hubble, Test 28, 2020

3D printed resin and PVC pipe.

Test 29 2020

3D printed test of a catch mechanism with 4mm wall thickness and total 30mm length. L-shaped turn mechanism catch that will house 6mm outer diameter, to be riveted in place.

Figure 8.42: Katherine Hubble, Test 29, 2020

Frosted polypropylene.

Test 30 2020

After multiple tests using frosted polypropylene, sheet thickness of 0.3mm is required. While watching the sheet heat as soon as it started to rise fully then watching it fall just before it turned transparent, it needed to be vacuumed over the shell form. The temperature must be exact; if too hot, the plastic will melt and pop, and if too cool, the form will not be exact.

Figure 8.43: Katherine Hubble, Test 30, 2020

Test 31 2020

Thermoforming plastic and red/ green iridescent vinyl tint.

Using thermoforming plastic with adhered iridescent vinyl tint to be used in vacuum forming the sample shell shape. Some colours of the tint are only visible on one side, so that side needs to be placed face up in the vacuum former. The thermoforming plastic is 0.5mm thick and is less heat sensitive, but the vinyl adhered to it.

Figure 8.44: Katherine Hubble, Test 31, 2020

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Acrylic and silver.

Test 32 2020

Tap and die were used to create silver posts for brooch back mechanisms; this tested how the main brooch form could be attached to the body. A brooch pin mechanism.

Figure 8.45: Katherine Hubble, Test 32, 2020

Resin.

Test 33 2020

Using a silicon mould taken from barnacles at town beach in Broome. I then attached the barnacles to a base that fits the shape for a seashell used within the vacuum forming process. This sample would then be used as the back of a brooch.

Figure 8.46: Katherine Hubble, Test 33, 2020

8.3 CONCLUSION

Idea development through drawing and the material experimentation that I have conducted are large

driving forces for the research and its outcomes. This chapter discusses the employed methods of

drawing to visually study and reflect upon each collected seashell and it inflates possibilities to fuel

the imagination. Drawing and the material experimentation are the starting points for each key final

jewellery piece and work on paper. A detailed account of each material test is documented within the

chapter and how each test has informed the next through what was learnt by making and testing.

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9.0 CREATIVE WORK OUTCOMES

In this chapter, I discuss each of the final creative works that are the outcome of this research project

and explore how each experimentation and material test has resulted in each final work. I summarise

the ideas and intention behind each work and how some works are more preliminary art works that

lead onto other more successful pieces. This chapter documents the results of the research and

learnt knowledge that has been used to create the final jewellery and works on paper to be exhibited.

The works are listed in sequential order of making and completing each work; although some pieces

were made simultaneously, the order demonstrates the heuristic process and how each work informs

the next. The knowledge was gained through the making of each work and its related

material/process tests, resulting in jewellery and works on paper.

9.1 PRELIMINARY WORKS

Figure 9.1: Katherine Hubble, 2018, Glam Clam Earrings, fine silver, enamel, lustre, glass, Australian south sea pearls, 60 x 30 x 30 mm each.

Glam Clam Earring (2018) (Figure 9.1) was the first work made as part of this research where I was

exploring the use of Australian South Sea pearls within contemporary jewellery to celebrate Australian

pearls. The jewellery techniques of repoussé and enamelling are implemented to create the body of

the earring representational of the shell and a bivalve mollusc or clam. Through iridescent and

transparent enamels, I can mimic the golden shimmering qualities of pearl shell. Gaston Bachelard in

The Poetics of Space (1964) speaks of the shell and once the surface has been polished and the

colours or nacre is revealed this must be a great inspiration to artists working in ceramic or enamel as

these processes are best able to recreate such qualities.

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Figure 9.2: Katherine Hubble, 2018, Shell Cluster Brooch Series, epoxy resin, silicon, copper, silver, pearls, foil, glitter, pigment, steel, rose gold, 150 x 200 x 40mm.

Shell Cluster Brooch Series (2018) (Figure 9.1) were created before the fieldwork portion of this

research project. These preliminary jewellery works explored the natural form of the shell and how it

can be representational of the body. Throughout human history, the symbol or the shell itself has

been used to adorn the human body. The bivalve mollusc is nearly always associated with female

sexuality and used as a fertility talisman in many parts of the world because of the likeness to the

body form. ‘Terms used include “the life-giving female”, sexual passion, female genitals, fertility, birth

and love’ (Morris 1999, p. 40).

The shell species used in the making of these brooches is the bivalve mollusc, P. albina; this was the

first European-discovered species of pearl shell off the shores of Western Australia. I chose this shell

as the beginning point of inquiry for my research. The use of shells in body adornment is not a new

concept, but my aim was to explore how I could reimagine shell jewellery in the twenty-first century.

In the making of these brooches, I experimented with materials containing lustre and soft pink colours

to mimic the human body and shell nacre. Some brooches contain small seed pearls hidden in

between the layers of resin towards the base of the replicated shell forms. The choice of epoxy resin

represented the shell motif in jewellery; the use of a modern material brings shell ornamentation into

the twenty-first century. The lustre and iridescent foil simulated the naturally occurring nacre of a pearl

shell, commonly known as mother of pearl. These materials were used to attract the viewer to their

aesthetic beauty. The works are successful in the experimentation of plastic materials in combination

with natural forms to help connect jewellery history with contemporary culture. However, they are

exploratory works that needed further investigation with final material choices and making processes.

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Figure 9.3: Katherine Hubble, 2018, Plastic & Pearl Ruff, polypropylene, freshwater pearls, nylon thread, 300 x 300 x 40mm. Image: Janelle Low.

I began making this piece by thinking about what craft processes and techniques I could achieve with

scrap offcuts of polypropylene left over from previous work. I started to cut a worm-like shape out of

the waste material and repeatedly cut it out. Then, using a needle and thread, I began threading each

part into two strands, piercing the shape in two places. I didn’t start out with a final shape in mind but

kept threading one shape at a time with two pearls, one on each thread used as spacers in between

sections. One thread has a smaller sized pearl than the other thread, so the shape began to circle

round. This was the first work investigating a beaded or threaded necklace; this jewellery archetype is

explored further in the Iridescent Parasite Series (2019-2021), discussed later in this chapter.

With each worm-like piece I threaded, the form was growing into a larger worm-like configuration. The

pieces being strung together became more and more flexible in movement because of the length and

the pearls in between. I kept adding and it continued growing until finally the structure was eating its

tail and the circle was complete. I knotted the ends together and placed it over my head, around my

neck. Pearls are not formed from a grain of sand as many people believe. A natural pearl is formed

from an ocean parasite or invading irritant that enters the mollusc and becomes trapped. The mollusc,

as a defence mechanism, begins to cover it with layers and layers of nacre.

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Figure 9.4: Katherine Hubble & Madeleine Thornton-Smith, 2019, Synthetic Nacre, ceramic, glaze, silver, polypropylene, vinyl tint, 250 x 250 x 50mm. Image: Janelle Low.

Figure 9.5: Katherine Hubble & Madeleine Thornton-Smith, 2019, Synthetic Nacre, ceramic, glaze, silver, polypropylene, vinyl tint, 250 x 250 x 50mm. Image: Janelle Low.

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Synthetic Nacre, (2019) (Figure 9.4) is a collaboration with ceramic artist Madeleine Thornton-Smith.

Madeleine created the ceramic elements of this necklace, and I made the plastic shells, silver

settings, chain, and assembled the final work to create a neckpiece.

Madeleine invited me to choose from a variety of ceramic pieces for the final work. As I spread them

all out on her studio table, I was reminded of how it felt when combing the beach for shells, looking at

each individual, unique piece in awe and wonder. I began to think about how this urge to gather and

collect seems inherent to the human character, especially when it comes to the natural mystical

specimens we collect at the beach. I selected each ceramic piece to use for this work. The pieces that

stood out to me were heavily textured; they reminded me of beach rock and pebbles. I was drawn to

the dark blues with a light blue glaze. These pieces reminded me of rock pools on the shore, formed

when water at high tide washes over the rocks and becomes trapped at low tide.

I wanted to use these ceramic elements in combination with my own man-made shells. I started to

place each ceramic specimen in a circle shape, a similar size to the neck. Just as there is an inherent

desire in humans to collect, there is a deep human desire for self-adornment. ‘Jewellery made from

shells is the most ancient form of human adornment’ (Thomas, 2007, p. 63). Shells are constructed

into a piece of jewellery that sits on the body, framing the neck and displaying these gathered

specimens as ornamentation.

This work led me to the next jewellery piece; I discovered, through making what elements I needed to

change for the next to be more successful in its construction. In this work, I discovered the best ways

to technically set and link each shell and ceramic element to form a jewellery neckpiece.

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Figure 9.6: Katherine Hubble, 2019, Juvenile Byssus, polypropylene, vinyl tint, freshwater pearls, silver, 250 x 250 x 50mm. Image: Janelle Low.

Figure 9.7: Katherine Hubble, 2019, Juvenile Byssus (detail), polypropylene, vinyl tint, freshwater pearls, silver, 250 x 250 x 50mm. Image: Janelle Low.

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Juvenile Byssus (2019) (Figure 9.5) is made by metal chains that form tightly around the curve of the

neck. This style or length of pearl necklace is referred to as a choker. The chain frame supports and

holds iridescent plastic shell forms. Vacuumed forms imitate the shape and form of the first found

Pinctada or pearl shell in West Australia. The chain works as the links that hold together the simulacra

pearl shells. This linked frame duplicates the way these shells collected off the ocean floor are placed

into flat nets with solid frames. Constructed nets are created by pearl farmers to store these shells for

perfect harvesting conditions while they grow from juvenile to adult. The chain of the necklace follows

the curve of the neck, mimicking the way the bivalves and molluscs attach themselves to rocks and

the seabed.

The replicated plastic shells are half-open to semi-closed, with transparent and iridescent material

qualities. They are synthetic, man-made copies of the magical quality that the Pinctada has. This draft

work has a pearl set in the middle of every shell form. For the final version of this piece, I set a pearl

in every second shell form, based on the techniques used for cultivating pearls used by Australian

pearl farms.

In pearl cultivation methods, one specimen of P. maxima is used for mantle tissue to be inserted with

the nuclei into another oyster to create a cultured pearl. The iridescent plastic shell forms are

informed by the high quality of nacre that the donor mantle specimen of P. maxima needs to have.

The specimens used to house the mantle tissue and bead nucleus must be healthy and fast growing;

high quality nacre is not required, and this can be represented by the frosted, transparent shell forms.

To define the different shells and their relationship to each other, I decided to use cultured Australian

Akoya or South Sea pearls.

Each of the vacuum-formed shells, once cut out, is a unique size, meaning that each setting for each

shell needed to be made individually. The duplicated bivalves could be arranged on the necklace in

order of size, mimicking the industry’s method of storing collected juvenile pearl shell for harvesting.

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9.2 IRIDESCENT PARASITE SERIES

Figure 9.8: Katherine Hubble, 2019–2021, Iridescent Parasite Series, polypropylene, vinyl tint, freshwater pearls, nylon thread, 350 x 300 x 40mm each. Image: Fred Kroh.

Figure 9.9: Katherine Hubble, 2019, Iridescent Parasite #I, polypropylene, vinyl tint, freshwater pearls, nylon thread, 350 x 300 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh.

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Figure 9.10: Katherine Hubble, 2020, Iridescent Parasite #II, polypropylene, vinyl tint, freshwater pearls, nylon thread, 350 x 300 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh.

Figure 9.11: Katherine Hubble, 2021, Iridescent Parasite #III, polypropylene, vinyl tint, freshwater pearls, nylon thread, 350 x 300 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh.

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Figure 9.12: Katherine Hubble, 2019, Iridescent Parasite #I, polypropylene, vinyl tint, freshwater pearls, nylon thread, 350 x 300 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh.

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Figure 9.13: Katherine Hubble, 2020, Iridescent Parasite #II, polypropylene, vinyl tint, freshwater pearls, nylon thread, 350 x 300 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh.

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Figure 9.14: Katherine Hubble, 2021, Iridescent Parasite #III, polypropylene, vinyl tint, freshwater pearls, nylon thread, 350 x 300 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh.

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Iridescent Parasite Series (2019–2021) explores the growth of nacre (mother of pearl) and its

iridescent optics. The iridescent quality of the vinyl tint that I have used within this work recreates the

lustre of nacre in a synthetic plastic material. The iridescence of the pearl shell, when viewed from the

side, is not visible and the surface appears dull; when viewed from the top, the light reflects off the

surface and creates the shimmering rainbow iridescence of nacre. The materials are used to mimic

this natural phenomenon of light and colour. It is not until the work is held within the hands and moved

within the light that its luminous optics are revealed.

Each iridescent section is unique because of the process of cutting by hand, simulating the unique

quality of a pearl. The shape comes from a tiny parasite that invades a pearl shell and becomes

trapped. As I have discussed early when the bivalve mollusc becomes irritated by the disturbance and

slowly covers this intruder in nacre. Left over many years, the layers of nacre build around the

parasite and it becomes a natural pearl. The pearl is a way for the bivalve mollusc to protect itself

from invaders and discomfort; but to humans, it is a beautiful, wondrous gem of the sea. When you

view it through a microscope, you can see the layers of built-up nacre that are platelets formed from

aragonite. Each section of iridescent plastic represents this organic process of growing nacre to

create the final jewellery form.

I chose to make this work from polypropylene for its visual quality of frosted transparency and the tint,

so that its iridescent appearance reflects the visual qualities of nacre. I have chosen to use the

polypropylene as a material, not only for its aesthetic qualities, but also to reflect the effect plastics

have had on the Australian pearling industry. In the mid 1950s, when plastic products were

mainstreamed within Western society, plastic buttons replaced the demand for mother of pearl

buttons. This affected the Broome pearl shell industry immensely, for most of the profit was from P.

maxima shells, which were sold and shipped overseas to produce pearl shell buttons. At this time,

plastic would have been seen as an irritant to the industry, just as an invading parasite is to the

Pinctada that, over time, becomes a natural pearl.

Cutting, piercing, threading, repeating — these are the processes used to create this necklace. These

techniques are also seen within found remains of prehistoric body ornaments. Conchologist and

author, Ingrid Thomas, states, ‘Scientists in 2006 discovered three shell beads between 90,000 and

100,000 years old, in Israel and Algeria’ (Thomas, 2007, p. 63). The repetition of processes is

informed by contemporary pearl cultivation methods used in the northwest of Australia. The repetitive

nature of pearl farming includes gathering, cutting, seeding, growing, harvesting, and repeating. This

work is built by the layering of pearls and tinted polypropylene in a circular pattern until the two ends

meet, completing the circle.

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9.3 PLASTIC LUSTRE BROOCH SERIES

Figure 9.15: Katherine Hubble, 2019–2021, Plastic Lustre Brooch #1, #2, #3, polypropylene, vinyl tint, acrylic, silver, steel, dimensions variable. Image: Fred Kroh.

Figure 9.16: Katherine Hubble, 2019, Plastic Lustre Brooch #4, polypropylene, vinyl tint, acrylic, silver, steel, 80 x 60 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh.

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Figure 9.17: Katherine Hubble, 2019, Plastic Lustre Brooch #5, polypropylene, vinyl tint, acrylic, silver, steel, 60 x 50 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh.

Figure 9.18: Katherine Hubble, 2019, Plastic Lustre Brooch #6, polypropylene, vinyl tint, acrylic, silver, steel, 70 x 50 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh.

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Figure 9.19: Katherine Hubble, 2019, Plastic Lustre Brooch #7, polypropylene, vinyl tint, acrylic, silver, steel, 70 x 60 x 50mm. Image: Fred Kroh.

Plastic Lustre Brooch Series (2019–2021) investigates the question, what is it about seashells that

draws us into their miniature magnificence? The natural phenomenon of seashells and their collection

has always inspired artists and craftspeople. There is a long history of the shell being used for

ornamentation and adornment of the human body. Conchologist and author Ingrid Thomas (2007, p.

63) states that ‘Jewelry made from shells is the most ancient form of human adornment’.

As a child growing up in Perth, my summer holidays with my family were spent traveling the coast of

Western Australia. My mother and I collected seashells from the different beaches we visited, to use

them as decoration within the sandcastles we built, and sometimes to bring home as a reminder of

the place.

This series of works uses the industrial process of vacuum forming in conjunction with studio jewellery

techniques of rivets and miniature screws. The pieces are assembled by layering multiple plastic

vacuum-formed shells, simulating the way a shell builds itself layer upon layer. Through multiple

material experimentation, I discovered a way to reflect light back through the brooches, creating a

luminous effect.

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9.4 HATCHERY STRAND SERIES

Figure 9.20: Katherine Hubble, Hatchery Strand #I, Necklace 2019, polypropylene, vinyl tint, 3D print resin, elastic, acrylic push toggle, 300 x 250 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh.

Figure 9.21: Katherine Hubble, Hatchery Strand #II, Necklace 2020, polypropylene, vinyl tint, 3D print resin, elastic, acrylic push toggle, 300 x 250 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh.

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Figure 9.22: Hatchery Strand #III, Necklace 2020, polypropylene, vinyl tint, 3D print resin, elastic, acrylic push toggle, 250 x 200 x 40mm. Image: Fred Kroh.

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Hatchery Strand Series (2019-2020) was made after returning from my fieldwork in Broome, where I

visited Willie Creek pearl farm and was able to see firsthand their hatchery and learnt about their

cultivation methods. This work was informed by this experience and what I saw in the hatchery, where

algae is grown as the food source for the growing spat. The algae is grown within glass beakers and

was neon orange and green; inspiring the use of colour within this work.

Cultured Australian South Sea pearls are renowned for being of the highest quality in the world. When

the pearls are harvested, they are then graded and sorted into traditional pearl strands. The pearls

that match best in colour, shape, complexion, and lustre are put together in a size gradient from

smaller pearls on each end to the largest size in the middle. Through my contemporary jewellery arts

practice, I began to reimagine this traditional jewellery archetype. Rather than using pearls, I vacuum

formed small pearl shells to represent the growing spat and juvenile specimen of P. maxima housed

within the hatchery.

This work employs a combination of contemporary industrial processes and traditional jewellery

methods to create a twenty-first century pearl strand. Industrial processes of vacuum forming and 3D

printing are used to reimagine one of the most traditional jewellery archetypes, a ‘pearl necklace’. The

works contrast the traditional ornamentation motif of the shell with twenty-first century new technology

processes to create entirely new jewellery.

Frosted polypropylene and colourful iridescent vinyl tints on thermoforming plastic are used in the

vacuum forming of pearl shells and various seashells to create the visual effects of mother of pearl.

Multiple plastic shells are created through vacuum forming. The method of replicating the pearl shell

mimics the process of cultivating and harvesting used within the pearling industry.

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9.5 PEARL FARMER NET SERIES

Figure 9.23: Katherine Hubble, 2019–2020, Pearl Farmer Net #I, Ink on Arches watercolour paper 300 gsm, 760 x 560mm. Image: Janelle Low.

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Figure 9.24: Katherine Hubble, 2019–2020, Pearl Farmer Net #II, Ink on Arches watercolour paper 300 gsm, 760 x 560mm. Image: Janelle Low.

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Figure 9.25: Katherine Hubble, 2019-2020, Pearl Farmer Net #IV, Ink on Arches watercolour paper 300 gsm, 760 x 560mm. Image: Janelle Low.

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Figure 9.26: Katherine Hubble, 2019-2020, Pearl Farmer Net #V, Ink on Arches watercolour paper 300 gsm, 760 x 560mm. Image: Janelle Low.

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Figure 9.27: Katherine Hubble, 2019-2020, Pearl Farmer Net #VI, Ink on Arches watercolour paper 300 gsm, 760

x 560mm. Image: Janelle Low.

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Pearl Farmer Net Series (2019–2020) is a group of ink on paper works depicting nets and chainmail

that are used within the pearl farming industries of the northwest. This series of work was developed

from my initial drawings (Figure 8.2) and became a project that I could focus on during the second

COVID-19 lockdown of 2020 (112 days).

These drawings can be discussed using the ideas that Tim Ingold outlines in Lines: A Brief History. In

the chapter Traces, Threads and Surfaces Ingold includes his ‘Taxonomy of lines’ (2016). Here Ingold

states; ‘The first distinction I would make is between two major classes of line, which I shall call

threads and traces’ (Ingold, 2016, p.58). The drawings I have made are my impressions and traces of

the threads I encounter when remembering the nets used within pearl farming.

Two of the drawings were created prior to the fieldwork in 2019 #I and II, I used online references to

pearling nets and chainmail material. Pearl Farmer Net #III, IV, V and VI were created after returning

from the northwest, during the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020. These large drawings allowed me to

engage in a mediative process in my home studio. This process in reflection reminded me of being

within the jewellery workshop and with making. My hand repeated each line, knot, or circular link,

trace after trace, day after day. Slowly building with each mark made to form a large impression of the

structural nets used to cultivate pearls.

Both processes used for making these net forms, knotting and chainmail, are closely connected to

jewellery making techniques. The repetition within each drawing represents the repetition within the pearl cultivation/farming processes.

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9.6 PEARL TECHNICIAN SERIES

Figure 9.28: Katherine Hubble, 2021 Pearl Technician Series, polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, silver, gold, nylon thread, dimensions variable. Image: Fred Kroh.

Figure 9.29: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Pearl Technician #IV (Princess) & #V (Choker), polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, silver, nylon thread. Image: Fred Kroh.

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Figure 9.30: Katherine Hubble, 2021, Pearl Technician #I (Rope), polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, silver, nylon thread, 530 x 360 x 35mm. Image: Fred Kroh.

Figure 9.31: Katherine Hubble, 2021, Pearl Technician #I (Rope), polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, silver, nylon thread, (detail). Image: Fred Kroh.

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Figure 9.32: Katherine Hubble, 2021, Pearl Technician #I (Rope), polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, silver, nylon thread, 530 x 360 x 35mm. Image: Fred Kroh.

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Figure 9.33: Katherine Hubble, Pearl Technician #II (Opera), 2021, polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, silver, nylon thread, 370 x 310 x 35mm. Image: Fred Kroh.

Figure 9.34: Katherine Hubble, 2021, Pearl Technician #II (Opera), polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, silver, nylon thread, (detail). Image: Fred Kroh.

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Figure 9.35: Katherine Hubble, 2021, Pearl Technician #I (Rope) & #III (Matinee), polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, gold, nylon thread. Image: Fred Kroh.

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Figure 9.36: Katherine Hubble, 2021, Pearl Technician #III (Matinee), polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, gold, nylon thread, 310 x 280 x 35mm. Image: Fred Kroh.

Figure 9.37: Katherine Hubble, 2021, Pearl Technician #III (Matinee), polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, gold, nylon thread, (detail). Image: Fred Kroh.

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Figure 9.38: Katherine Hubble, 2021, Pearl Technician #III (Matinee), polypropylene, vinyl tint, polyvinyl chloride, 3D printed resin, freshwater pearls, gold, nylon thread, 310 x 280 x 35mm. Image: Fred Kroh.

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Following on from Hatchery Strand Series (2019 – 2020) the Pearl Technician Series (2021) (Figure

9.24) began by exploring the tradition of pearl strands, named by their length with the titles of Rope,

Opera, Matinee, Princess, Choker and Collar; these names also were associated with a dress code or

the occasion when you would wear these pearls. The three colours of Pinctada pearl shell are

reflected within these works. The common industry terms are silver lip oyster, gold lip oyster and the

black lip oyster. The gold and silver lip oysters come from P. maxima, and the black lip oyster is from

P. margaritifera.

This series of necklaces also explores P. maxima hatchery and the pearl technician’s processes of

seeding. The pearl technician is a highly skilled position within the pearling industry; they operate on

the living specimen. The ways of cultivating the perfect pearl are still trade secrets within this industry.

The pearl technicians work on the pearling vessels within a secure area that only they have access to.

Each shell specimen is placed within a clasp and wedged open when operated on. The 3D printed

resin segments replicate this process of being held in place. The resin segments are also created to

act as a bead that enables the shells to be threaded onto the PVC pipe. Pearl Technician Series

(2021) implements new technologies and industrial processes in combination with plastic materials in

the making of these works to reimagine pearl jewellery in the twenty-first century. The works mimic

the lengths and style of a pearl strand, but in place of each pearl is a vacuum formed pearl oyster,

representing the origin and the production process of a pearl.

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10.0 CONCLUSION

This project explored the notion of what Australian pearl jewellery could become in the twenty-first

century. It looked at existing jewellery and artworks to think through the representation of pearls and

their shells. This practice-led research studied the industry methods used to cultivate Australian South

Sea pearls and the P. maxima to inform the creation of new studio-based contemporary jewellery

outcomes.

The project began by studying the history of the pearl within Western culture and how a strand of

pearls became a symbol of femininity. Research into the pearl’s shell informed me about its

symbolism in relation to the female body. Further investigation into the P. maxima led to the historical

research of Australian pearls and the contemporary pearling industry of Australia’s northwest. This

preliminary research was the starting point of my inquiry as to how pearl jewellery could be

reimagined within the twenty first century.

To contextualise my research, I looked at my community of practice and the contemporary artists

discussed within the research have been divided into two groups. Firstly, I looked at the work of artists

who make contemporary jewellery and I examined their concepts that reimagine pearl jewellery

archetypes. I have analysed significant works by Lin Cheung, Lisa Walker, Lauren Kalman and

Manon van Kouswijk for their cultural and personal use of pearls. These artists all challenge the archetype of pearl jewellery through original concepts of wearability, materiality, value, and use.

The second group of artists I examined utilise shells within jewellery and adornment. Warwick

Freeman, Jiro Kamata, Lola Greeno and Helen Britton work with shell as a material within their

practices. For Freeman and Kamata it was their use of shell as a material to create wearable pieces

that brings shell jewellery in a contemporary context. I researched the use of Australian seashells in

Lola Greeno and Helen Britton’s art practices and considered their cultural connections to material and place through the collection and making methods they used.

The methodology for this practice-based research consisted of fieldwork in Australia’s northwest,

heuristic making methods in the studio and reflecting on Gaston Bachelard’s phenomenological

approach to the shell. The shell conceptualised in this context can provide great inspiration for the

imagination. Gaston Bachelard states, ‘The created object itself is highly intelligible; and it is the

formation, not the form, that remains mysterious.’ (Bachelard, 1964, p.106). Through this reading I found that the mystery and natural phenomenon of the shell intrigues the imagination the most.

The fieldwork conducted in Broome Western Australia was essential to the research and the resulting

final creative outcomes. The fieldwork chapter consists of daily recordings of my findings and

discoveries while experiencing a new environment and place. My research into contemporary pearling

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practices through cultivation and harvesting Australian south sea pearls was informed by visiting two

operating commercial pearl farms. The fieldwork allowed me to experience for myself how the

contemporary West Australian pearling industry operates today. I conducted the fieldwork ethically

and with a respect for the environment, I collected photographic documentation, field notes and a

limited sample of organic materials.

Experiencing the environment of the pearl farm and the surrounding areas where pearl shells are

found influenced my research through my heuristic making methods of idea development and material

experimentation. This experience is now embedded in the final creative works and research

outcomes. I studied and investigated the collected organic materials through ink drawing and

watercolour painting documenting each precious collected seashells form, colour, pattern, and

texture. This documentation assisted my understanding of my subject and influenced the material and

technical experimentation into how to recreate the natural wonderment of seashells in synthetic

luminous materials.

Through my embodied knowledge of traditional gold and silversmithing techniques in combination

with industrial materials and processes, I investigated new ways of creating jewellery that mimics the

wonderment of nature. To illustrate the importance of the material experimentation I used a table

structure to list samples and the findings in chronological order demonstrating the learnt knowledge

that progressed from one sample to the next and informing the development and making of all the

jewellery outcomes. The final creative outcomes are the result of these implemented heuristic making methods.

The use of plastic and synthetic materials in place of shell and organic materials is influenced by the

natural qualities of pearl shell. The chosen synthetic materials mirror the shell's qualities of strength,

flexibility, and pearl shells visual iridescence. I have chosen to reference shells within the work and

process of making rather than as the material traditionally used itself. Through the device of jewellery,

this research furthers plastics' perceived value. Shifting the idea of plastic from a material that is

single use and thrown away into wearable objects to be treasured for lifetimes to come.

The creative outcomes of this research contribute to the body of knowledge in the contemporary

jewellery field that reimagines what the ‘perfect’ strand of pearls could be. My research interprets the

cultivation methods of pearls and the qualities of P. maxima pearl shells using the layering and combination of synthetic plastic materials. My research implemented fieldwork to understand

contemporary cultivation methods and explore the role of the shell in pearl production. This personal

experience of the hatcheries generated a new appreciation for the shell, and this can be seen in the

material testing and the resulting works where I present the shell as the precious element rather than

the pearl itself.

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This research investigated what Australian pearl jewellery could become in the twenty-first century. It

used the changing role of jewellery to think through the representation of pearls and their shells. The

outcomes offer creative possibilities where I can continue to explore new ways of reimaging pearl

jewellery through the lens of other pearl cultivation and harvesting practices. I explored the harvesting

of P. maxima and the Australian South Sea pearl located off the shores of Western Australia. Future

inquiries could seek to investigate the cultivation and harvesting methods of freshwater pearls in

China, the Akoya pearls in Japan.

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11.0 EXAMINATION EXHIBITION

Katherine Hubble

Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects

Viewing 4pm - 7pm Thursday 24 March

SITE EIGHT Gallery

RMIT City Campus, Building 2, Level 2, Room 8 Bowen St off La Trobe St, Melbourne

This practice-led research 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. Using a combination of contemporary plastic

materials and industrial processes to reimagine the pearl within the twenty first

century.

Figure 11.1: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects. Image by Fred Kroh.

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Figure 11.2: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects, Plastic Lustre (2019-2022) series and Pearl Farmer Net (2019-2021) series. Image by Fred Kroh.

Figure 11.3: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects. Image by Fred Kroh.

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Figure 11.4: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects, printed images of Juvenile Byssus, (2019) and Iridescent Parasite, (2019). Image by Fred Kroh.

Figure 11.5: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects. Image by Fred Kroh.

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Figure 11.6: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects, Hatchery Strand series (2019-2020). Image by Fred Kroh.

Figure 11.7: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects, Plastic Lustre series (2019-2022). Image by Fred Kroh.

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Figure 11.8: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects, Pearl Farmer Net (2019-2021) series. Image by Fred Kroh.

Figure 11.9: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects, Pearl Farmer Net (2019-2021) series. Image by Fred Kroh.

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Figure 11.10: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects. Image by Fred Kroh.

Figure 11.11: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects. Image by Fred Kroh.

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Figure 11.12: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects. Image by Fred Kroh.

Figure 11.13: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects. Image by Fred Kroh.

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Figure 11.14: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects, Pearl Technician series (2021-2022). Image by Fred Kroh.

Figure 11.15: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects, Iridescent Parasite series (2019-2022). Image by Fred Kroh.

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Figure 11.16: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects. Image by Fred Kroh.

Figure 11.17: Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls: The culture of the pearl in jewellery and objects, Printed images of Iridescent Parasite (2019) and Pearl Technician (2021). Image by Fred Kroh.

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Bibliography Books Adams, T 1989, Port of pearls: the tropical pearling port of Broome located in the remote North West of Australia, Lyre Bird Press, Melbourne, VIC. Anderson, P 1998, Contemporary jewellery in Australia and New Zealand, Craftsman House, Sydney, NSW. Britton, H 2010, Jewellery life, Helen Britton, Belgium. Cane, K 2012, Making & Drawing, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, London, UK. Chadour-Sampson, B & Bari, H 2013, Pearls, V&A Publishing, South Kensington, UK. Edwards, A (ed.), Exceptional jewellery [Schmuck Spektakular, Bijoux D’exception], The Pepin Press, Amsterdam. Edwards, H 1984, Port of pearls, Tangee Publishing, Kalamunda, WA. Greeno, L & Gough, J 2014, Lola Greeno cultural jewels, Object: Australian Design Centre, Surry Hills, NSW. Joyce, K & Addison, S, 1993, Pearls: Ornament and obsession, Simon & Schuster Inc, New York, NY. Kristeva, J 1982, Powers of horror: An essay on abjection, Columbia University Press, New York, NY. Kunz, GF & Stevenson, CH 1908, The book of the pearl; its history, art, science and industry, Dover Publications, Mineola, NY. Landman, NH, Mikkelsen, PM, Bieler, R & Bronson, B 2001, Pearls: a natural history, Harry N Abrams, New York, NY. Lanfranconi, C 2006, Girls in Pearls, Merrell Publishers Ltd, London, UK. McCreight, T 2004, Complete metalsmith, Brynmorgen Press Inc, Portland, ME. Malaguzzi, S 2001, The pearl, Rizzoli International Publications, New York, NY. Moore, B 2009 (eds), Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary; The Future of Australian English, 5th edn, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, VIC. Skinner, D 2013 (eds), Contemporary jewelry in perspective, Sterling Publishing, New York, NY. T Edwards and S Yu 2018 (eds), Lustre; pearling & Australia, West Australian Museum, Welshpool, WA. Thomas, I 2007, The shell; a world of decoration & ornament, Thames & Hudson, New York, NY. Walker, L 2008, Unwearable, Darling Publications, New York, NY. Walker, L 2019, An unreliable guide to jewellery, RMIT Design Hub Gallery, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC. Book Chapters Bachelard, G 1964, ‘Shells’ in The poetics of space; The classical look at how we experience intimate places, Orion Press Inc, New York, NY, pp. 103-135. Batchelor, D 2014, ‘The luminous and the grey’ in The luminous and the grey, Reaktion Books Ltd, London, UK, pp. 34-61. Barrett, E 2007, ‘Introduction’ in Practice as research approaches to creative arts enquiry, I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd, New York, NY, pp. 1-14 den Besten, L 2011, ‘Introduction’ in On jewellery: a compendium of international contemporary art jewellery, ARNOLDSCHE, Germany, pp. 6-16.

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den Besten, L 2011, ‘The body’ in On jewellery: a compendium of international contemporary art jewellery, ARNOLDSCHE, Germany, pp. 125-131. Dubin, L 1987, ‘The beginnings’ in The history of beads: from 30,000 BC to the present, Thames & Hudson Ltd, London, UK, pp. 21-27. Finlay, V 2002, ‘The beginning of the rainbow’, in Color: a natural history of the palette, The Ballantine Publishing Group, London, UK, pp. 4-9. Finlay, V 2006, ‘Pearls’, in Buried treasure; travels through the jewellery box, Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, London, UK, pp. 85-125. Gaspar, M 2013, ‘The body in jewelry’, in Skinner D (ed.), Contemporary jewelry in perspective, Sterling Publishing, New York, NY, pp. 71-73. Ingold, T 2016, ‘Traces, thread and surfaces’, in Lines: A Brief History, Taylor & Francis Group, Oxford, UK, pp. 56-89. Lignel, B 2013, ‘Redefining use’, in Skinner D (ed.), Contemporary jewelry in perspective, Sterling Publishing, New York, NY, pp. 52-52. Morris, D 1999, ‘Animal magic: zoological bodyguards’, in Body guards; protective amulets and charms, Element Books, Ringwood, VIC, pp. 12-51. Moustakas, C 1990, ‘Introduction: resources and inspiration’, in Heuristic research: design, methodology and applications, Sage Publications Inc, Newbury Park, CA, pp. 9-14. Peltason, R 2010, ‘Pearls, the leading ladies of jewelery’, in Jewelry from nature, Thames & Hudson, London, UK, pp. 94-135. Peltason, R 2010, ‘Shell, architecture in miniature’, in Jewelry from nature, Thames & Hudson, London, UK, pp. 136-155. Ploszajaski, A 2021, ‘Plastic’, in Handmade: A Scientist's Search for Meaning Through Making, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, London, UK, pp. 26-41. Ploszajaski, A 2021, ‘Epilogue’, in Handmade: A Scientist's Search for Meaning Through Making, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, London, UK, pp. 161-165. Pole, C & Hillyard, S, 2016, ‘What is Fieldwork’, in Doing Fieldwork, Sage Publications Inc, London, UK, pp.1-18. Soyoung, L 2018, ‘The alluring body’, in M Holcomb (ed), Jewellery: the body transformed, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, pp. 163-197. Unger, M & Van Leeuwen, S 2017, ‘The basics: definition and sources’, in Jewellery matters, nai010 publishers, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, pp. 55-95. Unger, M & Van Leeuwen, S 2017, ‘Beauty and eroticism’, in Jewellery matters, nai010 publishers, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, pp. 323-369. Veiteberg, J 2005, ‘The problem of beauty’, in, Bergen National Academy of the Arts, Norway, pp. 44- 61. Journal Articles Brown, A 2017, ‘Renaissance lustre’, The Australian Financial Review, Nov 24, 2017, p. 58. Craig, G 2009, ‘The transgressions of Lauren Kalman’, American Craft, vol. 69 no. 5 pp. 38-45. Daume, S, Fromont, J, Parker, F, Davidson, M, Murphy, D & Hart, A 2010, ‘Quantifying sponge erosions in Western Australian pearl oyster shells’, Aquaculture Research, vol. 41 no. 9, pp. 260-267. Dietz, UG 2008, ‘Out of the shell: recontextualizing the pearl in contemporary jewelry’, Metalsmith, vol. 29, no.1, pp. 50-51. Fricke, B 2012, Matter and meaning of mother-of-pearl: the origins of allegory in the spheres of things, vol. 51, no.1, pp. 35-53.

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Hanni, HA 2012, ‘Natural pearls and cultural pearls: a basic concept and its variations’, The Australian Gemmologist, vol. 24, no.11, pp. 258-266. Hindle, S, Colley, R & Boultwood, A, 2016, ‘On performing art jewellery: identity play as leisure activity, Annals of Leisure Research, vol 19, no. 3 pp. 294–313. Horwell, V 2007, ‘What fresh shell is this?’, Crafts, vol. 209, pp. 28-33. Jameson, H 1921, ‘Japanese Culture Pearls’, Nature, vol. 108 no. 2721, pp. 528-529. Julius, C 2014, ‘Pearl wonders; Victoria & Albert and Qatar Museums Authority Exhibition, 21 September 201–19 January 2014’, Craft Arts International, no. 90, 2014, pp. 98-99. Kalman, L 2004, ‘Lauren Kalman’, Metalsmith, vol. 24, p. 31. McDougall, C, Aguilera, F, Moase, P, S.Lucas, J, & M.Degnan, B, 2013, ‘Pearls’, Current Biology, Vol. 23, No. 16, pp. 671-673. Nilsson, L 2017, ‘Broome: the human cost of pearl’, Voiceworks, no. 107, 2017, pp. 89-94. Simpson, K 2004, ‘Pearl-diving: inscriptions of desire and creativity in H.D. and Woolf, Journal of Modern Literature, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 37- 58. Online References Visual feast by Silvia Weidenbach, vimeo, Victoria and Albert Museum, viewed 26 September 2020, . Candy L 2006, Practice based research: a guide, University of Technology, Sydney, viewed 20 September 2020, . Gott, T 2003, ‘Giambattista Tiepolo; The banquet of Cleopatra 1743-44’, The National Gallery of Victoria, VIC, viewed 20 March 2021 . Kouswijk, M 2013, ‘Current Obsessed with Schmuck’ in Current Obsession; The Archetype Issue #1, viewed 10 August 2020, < https://issuu.com/current-obsession/docs/co1/80> . Newton, I 1704, ‘Opticks: Or, a Treatise of the Reflexions, refractions, Inflexions and Colours of Light. Also Two Treatises of the Species and Magnitude of Curvilinear Figures’, viewed 20 September 2021, Roden, A 2020, ‘Pearls of Australia adapts to crisis; successfully spawns two oyster species’, Jeweller Magazine, 30 April, viewed 16 July 2021, < https://www.jewellermagazine.com/Article/8877/Pearls-of-Australia-adapts-to- crisis-successfully-spawns-two-oyster-species> Liu, Y 2016, ‘Pearl’ in Reference Module in Materials Science and Materials Engineering, viewed 20 March 2019, Loos, A 1908, ‘Ornament and crime’, viewed 12 Jan 2019, < https://web.archive.org/web/20150403175309/http://www2.gwu.edu/~art/Temporary_SL/177/pdfs/Loos.pdf> Government Document Fish Resources Management Act 1994 (Western Australia), viewed 10th March 2021, Hart, A, Travaille, K L, Jones, R, Brand-Gardner, S, Webster, F, Irving, A and Harry, A V 2016, Western Australian Silver-lipped Pearl Oyster (P. maxima) Industry, Western Australian Marine Stewardship Council Report Series No. 5: Department of Fisheries, Western Australia. Radio Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) 2017, ‘Demons, ghost trains and seashells: the jewellery of Helen Britton’, The Book of Mormon, Helen Britton’s jewellery, Japanese theatre, radio episode, ABC Radio, Perth, 9 February.

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Video Australia: life on the edge: Kimberley coast, 2013, Ep 6, National Geographic, directed by Russell Vines. Secret life of pearls 2016, DVD, Northern Pictures, Australia, directed by Nick Robinson. Beneath the surface, video recording, Ellies Pearling, Australia, directed by Sam Thies. Cultural Icons: 63.Warwick Freeman, Interviewed by Damian Skinner, viewed 24 November 2021, Lecture Cheung, L 2020, ‘Webinar #3 Lin Cheung’ lecture in Applied Arts Ireland & Northern Ireland Autumn/ Winter Lecture Series, 14 October, Applied Arts Ireland & Northern Ireland, Dublin. Personal Communication den Besten, L 2004, ‘Speech to Warwick Freeman’, opening address at tentoonstelling given — the jewellery of Warwick Freeman 1980 – 2003, Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam, 1 June. Willie Creek Pearls, 2019, guided tour, 9 August. Cygnet Bay Pearls, 2019, guided tour, 12 August.

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Appendix A

Curriculum Virtue

Education

2018-2022 Master of Fine Art, RMIT University, Melbourne

2017 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Fine Art) (First Class Honours), RMIT University, Melbourne

2014-2016 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Fine Art), RMIT University, Melbourne

2009-2012 Advanced Diploma of Jewellery Design, North Metropolitan TAFE, Perth

2007-2007 Cert III Design Fundamentals, North Metropolitan TAFE, Perth

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

2022 ‘Twenty- first Century Pearl Jewellery’, Brunswick St Gallery, Melbourne Design Week,

Melbourne 2021 ‘Twenty- first Century Pearl Jewellery’, Online < https://www.instagram.com/katherine_hubble/>

Radiant Pavilion, Melbourne

2018 ‘Iridescence’, Real Job Studios, Melbourne

Group exhibitions / award exhibitions

2022 ‘The 2021 Victorian Craft Awards’, Craft Victoria, Melbourne

2021, ‘Shaped’, Craft Victoria, Melbourne

2021, ‘Craft Poster Walk’, Craft Victoria: Craft Contemporary 2021, Melbourne

2020, ‘Emerging Objects’, Assembly Point, Craft Victoria: Craft Contemporary 2020, Melbourne

2020, ‘STREAMS’ Intro by Galerie Marzee, Amsterdam

2020, ‘An Anthology of Making: Jewellery & Objects’ Chapter Two: Colour & Play, City Library,

Melbourne

2019, ‘Adorned’, Alternating Current Art Space, Melbourne

2019, ‘Profile 19’, Australian Design Centre, Sydney

2019, ‘Master Makers’, RMIT Gallery, Radiant Pavilion, Melbourne

2019, ‘In the Drawer’, Small Space Jewellery, Radiant Pavilion, Melbourne

2019, ‘Perceiving Practice’, First Site Gallery, Radiant Pavilion, Melbourne

2019, ‘Marzee For Starters’ FRAME International Handwerksmesse, München

2019 ‘Marzee For Starters’, Collect Fair Saatchi Gallery, London

2019 ‘Artistar Jewels 2019’, Palazzo Bovara, Milano

2019 ‘Marzee For Starters’, Qade Art Fair, Rotterdam

2018 RMIT students, JOYA, Barcelona, Spain

2018 ‘Marzee For Starters’ FRAME International Handwerksmesse, München

2018 ‘Australian Pearl Jewellery Design Masters’, Maritime Museum, Sydney

2018 ‘Object Viewpoints- RMIT UNIVERSITY GOLD & SILVERSMITHING’, Loupe, Hong Kong

2018 ‘Marzee For Starters’, Qade Art Fair, Rotterdam

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2018 ‘Marzee For Starters at CODA Museum’, CODA Museum, Apeldoorn

2018, ‘Wondernamel’, First Site Gallery, Melbourne

2017 ‘Sieraden, the best young international jewelery designers, selected by Marzee’, Museum Het

Valkhof, Nijmegen

2017 ‘Small Works Art Prize’, Brunswick St Gallery, Melbourne

2017 ‘The Marzee International Graduate Show 2017’, Gallery Marzee, Nijmegen

2017 ‘Wondernamel’, First Site Gallery, Radiant Pavilion, Melbourne

2017 ‘Graduate Metal XV’, First Site Gallery, Radiant Pavilion, Melbourne

2017 ‘In-between’, Dirty Dozen, Radiant Pavilion, Melbourne

2017 ‘Fresh!’, selected Victorian graduates in contemporary craft and design, Craft Victoria,

Melbourne

2016, ‘Wondernamel’, First Site Gallery, Melbourne

2015 ‘SPIN’, ANCA Gallery, Canberra

2015, ‘Wondernamel’, First Site Gallery, Melbourne

2013 ‘Graduate Metal 13’, Webb Gallery, Brisbane

2013 ‘Contemporary Wearables’, Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery Travelling Exhibition

Awards

2017 Emily Hope Prize for Figurative Work, RMIT University

2017 Real Job Studio’s Mentorship and Solo Exhibition, Melbourne

2016 The 2016 Wolf Wennwrich award for Excellence in Gold and Silversmithing, RMIT University

2012 PW Beck Award for Entrepreneurial spirit in jewellery design, North Metropolitan TAFE, Perth

2012 Australian Jewellery Supplies Award for bench commitment & unwavering focus, North

Metropolitan TAFE, Perth

2012 Glenice Matthews Memorial Award for technical excellence in jewellery making, North

Metropolitan TAFE, Perth

2012 Shine award for a group exhibition at Gallery Central, North Metropolitan TAFE, Perth

Collections

W.E McMillian Collection, RMIT University, Melbourne.

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Appendix B

External Exhibition Documentation During Candidature 2022, Twenty- first Century Pearl Jewellery, Brunswick St Gallery, Melbourne Design

Week, Melbourne

Figure 12.1: Printed invitation, Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls, Brunswick St Gallery. Image: https://www.brunswickstreetgallery.com.au/past#/twentyfirst-century-pearls-katherine-hubble/

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Figure 12.2: Installation shot, Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls, Brunswick St Gallery. Image: Brunswick St Gallery, https://www.brunswickstreetgallery.com.au/past#/twentyfirst-century-pearls-katherine- hubble/

Figure 12.3: Installation shot, Katherine Hubble, 2022, Twenty-first Century Pearls, Brunswick St Gallery. Image: Brunswick St Gallery, https://www.brunswickstreetgallery.com.au/past#/twentyfirst-century-pearls-katherine- hubble/

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2022, The 2021 Victorian Craft Awards, Craft Victoria, Melbourne

Figure 12.4: 2022 The 2021 Victorian Craft Awards, Craft, Melbourne. Image: Henry Trumble

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Figure 12.5: Installation shot, 2022 The 2021 Victorian Craft Awards, Craft, Melbourne. Image: Annika

Kafcaloudis

Figure 12.6: 2022 ‘The 2021 Victorian Craft Awards’, Katherine Hubble, 2021, Hatchery Strand Series, Craft,

Melbourne. Image: Annika Kafcaloudis

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2021, Craft Poster Walk, Craft Victoria: Craft Contemporary 2021, Melbourne

Figure 12.7: Screen shot taken 24th May 2022, https://craft.org.au/whats-on/2021-craft-contemporary/

Figure 12.8 & 12.9: Paste ups institute shots, 2021 Craft Poster Walk, Craft Victoria: Craft Contemporary 2021, Images: Eliza Tiernan, https://craft.org.au/whats-on/all-events/craft-contemporary-poster-walk/

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2021, Twenty- first Century Pearl Jewellery, Online, Radiant Pavilion, Melbourne

Figure 12.10: Screen shot taken 24th May 2022, https://www.radiantpavilion.com.au/listing/twenty-first-century- pearls/

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2019, Adorned, Alternating Current Art Space, Melbourne

Figure 12.11: Printed invitation, Madeleine Thornton-Smith and Katherine Hubble, 2019, Adorned, Alternating Current Art Space, Image and text by: Madeleine Thornton-Smith.

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Figure 12.12: Printed invitation, 2019, Master Makers, RMIT Gallery.

2019, Master Makers, RMIT Gallery, Radiant Pavilion, Melbourne

Figure 12.13: Katherine Hubble, 2016, Plastic Opal, thermoforming plastic, thread and polypropylene, Image: Fred Kroh.

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2019, Perceiving Practice, First Site Gallery, Radiant Pavilion, Melbourne

Figure 12.14: Printed invitation, 2019, perceiving Practice, First Site Gallery, Radiant Pavilion, Image and text by: Elisa Zorraquin.

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2017 where she received the Emily Hope Award for a Figurative Work. In 2017 Katherine was also selected to exhibit in The Marzee International Graduate Show 2017. From this exhibition, Katherine was invited to

2019, Artistar Jewels 2019, Palazzo Bovara, Milano

K atherine hubble completed her Bachelor of Fine Art graduating with First Class honours in

participate in the Marzee for Starters program.

Porcelain and Pearls Necklace 2017 Freshwater Pearls, Porcelain, Ceramic, Copper, Enamel, Glass, Silk Thread

The artist’s contemporary jewellery practice explores narratives around pearls and the female body. She has used the technique of porcelain dipping to transform the sea sponge that she collected and gathered off the coast line of West Australia. The Southern ice porcelain paired against the white lustre of freshwater pearls.

Shells and Pearls Necklace

2017 Freshwater Pearls, Copper, Enamel, Glass, Rose Gold Plating, Silk

Australia || www.instagram.com/katherine_hubble || hubblekatherine@gmail.com || +61 401942525

Through her practice she creates works that celebrate and redefine female beauty, identity and sexuality. She used the techniques of repousse and enamel to create the shell forms. She used freshwater clams collected from her home town Perth. The inside of the shells are filled with pinks and lustres paired against the freshwater pearls.

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Figure 12.15: Artistar Jewels, 2019, catalogue pages, Katherine Hubble, Images by Artistar Jewels.