Two Scottish jewellers – Susan Cross and Grainne Morton  – have been shortlisted for the prestigious Jerwood Applied Arts Prize alongside Nora Fok, Yoko Izawa and Mah Rana.

The £30,000 prize, established in 1995 by the Crafts Council and the Jerwood Charitable Foundation, is a celebration of innovation, commitment and excellence within the applied arts. 

Selected from 87 entries, the six shortlisted jewellers use a range of materials in their work, including gold and oxidised silver, acrylic, lycra and natural materials such as twig and hair.  The independent judging panel was impressed by the outstanding standard of all the shortlisted work which ‘blends intellectual content and excellence in design and making’.

Susan Cross works extensively with gold and oxidised silver wire, allowing each piece of work, and herself, to evolve intuitively through the making process. Techniques borrowed from textile construction such as knotting and crocheting, weaving and winding, animate the ‘controlled rhythm’ of metal forms.  Her work over the last six years reflects trips to Japan and India.  The judging panel described her work as ‘very assured, elegant and accessible’.

In recent years Grainne Morton has developed a collage approach to her jewellery which tells stories through her arrangements of found and fabricated items.  She works with a range of different materials including oxidised copper, perspex, found objects, ribbon, sequins and vintage pearl buttons.  The judging panel found her objects ‘provocative and extremely personal’.

Adam Paxon, who was based in Scotland until recently and now has a studio in England, takes his inspiration from nature and uses acrylic, lacquer, PVC and silver effect leaf in work which he describes as indulging in ‘a more muscular scale’.  His development of lamination and forming technique is complemented by the use of more subtle colour palettes.  A significant shift in recent work is the pursuit of the interior of the object, which employs clear and mirrored acrylic and results in an illusory quality.  The judging panel commended the ‘quality, consistency and assertiveness’ of his jewellery. 

The other shortlisted jewellers have all exhibited work in Scotland over the past year.  Mah Rana, who addresses the question ‘Why do we wear jewellery?’ is creating an ongoing written and photographic record of people’s personal connections to the jewellery that they wear.  She collected personal stories about jewellery at the Challenging Craft conference in Aberdeen in 2004 and the Maker Wearer Viewer exhibition in Glasgow in 2005. 

Nora Fok works predominantly in nylon exploring the space around the body to create a sculpted piece of jewellery which is light in weight, colourful and translucent.  She participated in the Highland schools residency in the first year and her work is included in the exhibition ‘Over the Hills and Far Away…’ which will tour during 2007 Highland Year of Culture. 

Yoko Izawa uses a combination of materials in her jewellery to demonstrate strength and delicacy.  Very fine, knitted elastic nylon is stretched over acrylic and polypropylene shapes to create a wrapping effect.  Her work was included in ShowCASe, an exhibition featuring contemporary fine art and craft acquired by the Contemporary Art Society, which visited Edinburgh last year.

An exhibition of work by the shortlist will be hosted at the Jerwood Space in London from 5 June to 22 July 2007 with the Jerwood Applied Arts Prize awarded on 25 June 2007 to the maker who, in the opinion of an independent panel of judges, has made the most significant contribution to jewellery over the last six years. 

Print Discuss