Medals Series

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The design brief was to produce a body of work exploring and reflecting one’s origins and individuality within the jewellery medium.

My exploration of myself, through my heritage, reinforced long-held feelings that, as one of a generation of New Zealand women who strove for feminist ideals, I had much to celebrate. We successfully campaigned not only for positive choices for women, but also for the legislation to legally enable these choices. This jewellery series celebrates NZ women’s acts/Acts and achievements since my families’ settlement in NZ. The acts/Acts chosen for the series were those having particular relevance to me. The ribbons on the medals reflect my childhood memories of a myriad of war memorabilia of older family women who served overseas in medical services in the two World Wars, and that had come under my parents’ guardianship. Some ribbons have particular meanings, ie. red for blood, anger, danger, violence and war itself. The suspender was used to show femininity, while the silver safety pin and the silver sticky plaster refers to the quick-fix of home medicine and the hiding or disguising of injuries.

1. Faith, Hope and Charity 1846

This jewellery piece celebrates the 1846 arrival of my great, great grandmother to be a Lutheran Missionary in the Chatham Islands. She, pictured in the medal, made a great act of faith to come across the world with only two other women, who within 48 hours of arrival had to draw straws for a husband, marry him and live in harmony with the island’s Moriori and Maori.

2. For whom she claims to vote, 1893

This piece celebrates the Act enabling women to get the vote, the first such Act for any country in the world. An image of Kate Sheppard, the woman who led the suffragettes’ campaign is used, together with part of the wording of the Act. The white ribbon signifies the white amellia flowers worn by the suffragettes.

3. "Once you’ve had a baby , you can’t put it back', 1973
This piece celebrates the Domestic Purposes Benefits Act, for the giving of financial assistance to solo mothers.

4. Diamonds are forever mine 1976This piece refers to the feature of the Matrimonal Property Act 1976 whereby everything is divided in half, except for the diamonds/jewels which the wife keeps forever.

5. Say No to Violence 1995
This celebrates the act of saying ‘NO’. I used the Band-Aid to reinforce the idea of covering the wound, or hiding or covering up for the oppressor.

6. Is it all an Act?
Do the acts/Acts work? What acts/Acts do we need in the future? Are Acts of these kinds workable, does society use them, or are they just an act? I used the mirror so that it included the viewer into the work, in order for the viewer to know that that they themselves are directly and immediately involved in these questions.