Jess Dare
Image: Grant Hancock
Biography
Contemporary jeweller Jess Dare completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts specialising in Jewellery at the Adelaide Centre for the Arts TAFEsa in 2006.
Jess has a unique practice working with acuity across both metal and glass and so straddling two quite distinct fields of practice. She has been Flameworking for over 15 years having been taught by local and international glass artists.
Jess joined Gray Street Workshop as an access tenant in 2007 and in 2010 became a partner of the workshop.
Jess exhibits nationally and internationally and is represented in major national collections including The National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, the Art Gallery of South Australia and the National Glass Collection.
Jess has undertaken international residencies researching floral culture in Bangkok, Thailand (2014) and Shanghai, China (2015).
In 2016/17 she worked closely with Professor Richard Johnson to create a permanent memorial in Sydney’s Martin Place symbolising the spontaneous sea of flowers laid by thousands of people following the December 2014 Martin Place siege in the Lindt Café.
“My work is influenced by nature, botanical specimens and memory. I use nature as a metaphor to investigate concepts of the fragility and transience of memory. To me flowers are a constant reminder that life is ephemeral, ever changing, momentary and precious.”
-Jess Dare
ARtist STATEMENT
I am a contemporary jeweller and partner of Gray Street Workshop (est.1985). I work predominately in glass using lampworking techniques and non precious metal. My exhibition work is influenced by nature, botanical specimens and memory. I use nature as a metaphor to investigate concepts of the fragility and transience of memory. To me flowers are a constant reminder that life is ephemeral, ever changing, momentary and precious.
As a jeweller I have always been drawn to the miniature, it’s how I view the world, in small minute details. For me, this intimate scale draws people into my sense of wonder, whilst the gigantic thrusts a world upon the viewer. I also use this scale to accentuate the sense of intrigue and awe that I get from the natural world.
My work draws parallels between the different ways that throughout history people have attempted to preserve flowers by means of illustration, photography, flower pressing, specimen collection and botanical models. Another powerful influence has been the extraordinary works of Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka- particularly the highly realistic collection of glass plant models created by for Harvard University between 1887 to 1936.
