DESIGN Canberra 2019: Codes and Systems

Posted on 24 October, 2019

Kristina Neumann is certainly going places but she’ll always take a piece of home with her.

“I’ve lived abroad but I’ve always called Canberra home. Much of my jewellery design draws on materials and forms inspired by my family home and past homes,” says jeweller and designer Kristina.

Kristina graduated with a Bachelor of Design Arts, majoring in gold and silversmithing, from the Australian National University and completed her Honours in Jewellery and Object there this year. So far, she has exhibited in the Netherlands, Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra.

“I was making work in response to the housing affordability crisis and thinking about this issue over, and over again. It’s hard not to when every day in the papers there’s an article about how housing is unattainable for millennials, so my work stemmed from that,” she says.

“In my practice, I use Canberra red brick and other housing materials and turn them into wearable work that references household items and other physical objects that speak of home.”

“In this way, my work provides both wearer and viewer a unique lens through which to view and appreciate the beauty that can be found in built forms.”

Kristina, along with her colleagues Nyx Matthews and Thomas O’Hara, is exhibiting at Craft ACT from 31 October to 14 December 2019 as part of the 2019 DESIGN Canberra Festival.

The joint exhibition, called Material Codes: explorations of form via systemic making, explores how objects are made.

“They’re both exceptional makers, and we share sympathetic qualities so we thought it would be interesting to present our work together. We all make works that draw on systems of making with tight material parameters and we build things in a way that is quite static.”

“We use a diverse range of materials in our individual practices. Thomas uses wood and is interested in architecture and nature and working within those systems to create these beautiful structures.”

“Nyx uses glass, and plaster and cement and metal to build elaborate sculptures that explore human interaction with the contemporary built environment, and my work draws on forms that are found on buildings and so they are simple, geometric shapes.”

“I’ve been quite fortunate in the beginnings of my artistic career. I’ve recently exhibited in the Netherlands and I’ve just won an emerging artist prize from the Toowoomba Regional Gallery. They have a Contemporary Wearables Biennial Jewellery Award and Exhibition, which recognises innovation in design.”

Kristina is also very grateful for the support she has received at home from Canberra’s KIN Gallery and Bilk Gallery and Craft ACT.

“Craft ACT provided me with the opportunity to curate a show for DESIGN Canberra a few years ago, and of course ANU is incredibly supportive. I’ve finished my studies but they are still offering me workshops and I have a residency with them until the end of this year. It’s been amazing,” says Kristina.

Material Codes: explorations of form via systematic making will be showing at Craft ACT from 31 October to 14 December 2019.

Kristina, Nyx and Thomas will also host an Exhibition Floor Talk on Thursday 7 November at 1.30 pm, also at Craft ACT.

the essentials 

What: DESIGN Canberra 2019
When: 4-24 November
Where: Various locations across Canberra
Website: designcanberrafestival.com.au

Photography: Anisa Sabet.

HerCanberra is a proud media partner of DESIGN Canberra 2019.