A pair of oval drop, sterling silver (blackened) earrings embellished with a sparse, asymmetrical pattern of 9ct yellow gold silver granules. With their asymetrical arrangement of yellow gold granules across the surface, these earrings are remiscent of the stars dotting the vast night sky in remote Australia. Each earring hangs from hand-made hooks.
Elegantly simple, the Rangelands earrings are informed by the artist's formative years spent in western NSW.
Sterling silver, 9ct yellow gold
35mm drop from piercing
Approximately 20mm wide
Kate Gardiner’s 'Rangelands Revealed' project combines the artist’s contemporary jewellery practice, knowledge of Australia’s rangelands and respect for the people who live there, as well as her creative writing.
the rangelands land type include savannas, woodlands, shrublands, grasslands and wetlands. Across these regions people are working to repair the environment through consultation with First Nations People, and innovative, critically informed practices.
Kate’s range of sterling silver, silk and gold jewellery draws upon the formative aesthetic influence this environment had on her during time spent in western NSW. Every piece is infused with elements unique to the rangelands, from curved sandstone ridges to the bark of the ngarrkaray (Pilaarrkiyalu language)/Leopardwood tree, to the bright spots of gold in the wide starry sky. The coloured silk borders suggest the red soil, the vast blue skies, the pink feathers of galahs, or the golden tan of the stockworkers’ kelpie collaborators.
Kate is an Australian maker based on Ngunnawal country, Canberra.