gaia
multimedia jewellery artist based in naarm/melbourne, Australia
Gaia is a jewellery artist based in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia, creating sculptural adornments that preserve fragments of the natural world through multimedia jewellery processes, with a focus on electroforming. Working with foraged botanicals, insects, bones, fungi, shells and stones, she transforms ephemeral materials into enduring copper relics by entombing them within metal.
Gaia’s creative practise has historically been heavily focused on wearable art, including costume headpieces and masks for performance, inspired by her interest in the relationship between object and body and adornments as forms of expression.
Her practice is rooted in a deep reverence for landscape, and ancestry, with a special interest in folklore and mythology from her ancestral homelands in Ireland and Scotland. Gaia’s art is a means of fostering a sense of closeness to the cultural roots of her ancestors, by connecting with sacred plants and following the traditions of heirlooms and working with animal remains and sacred plants and celebrating the natural world. Gaia explores jewellery as a objects that carry stories across generations and foster a sense of belonging and connection to place.
Using foraged treasures from the earth, Gaia works collaboratively with shapes created by nature, allowing natural process to dictate much of the final form, including retaining the textures and imperfections that are found in nature. Once-fragile specimens are preserved and frozen in a moment of decay to be repurposed and immortalised.
By combining modern techniques and equipment to ancient stories and symbols, Gaia’s wearable creations invite the wearer to carry frozen fragments of the living earth to connect to place and celebrate the natural world.
exhibitions
All Wild Incantations jewellery is lovingly designed and handmade by Gaia in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia. My jewellery is created using a process called electroforming, which involves depositing layers of metal (usually copper) onto a surface to create a solid metal object.
I begin my process by collecting objects from nature and create compositions featuring these found objects by adding embellishments such as wire, crystals and polymer clay. The design is then coated with a conductive layer of paint, and placed in an electrolyte bath comprised of an ionised solution. An electrical current is applied, causing the metal ions in the solution to be attracted to the conductive surface of the design. As the current moves through the solution, these metal ions build up layer by layer, gradually forming a solid metal casing over the original item. The process can take several hours or even days, depending on the desired thickness of the metal layers. The finished product is a copper plated design which preserves the original object within the metal. This means that unlike a metal casting process (which discards the original mould), all of the bones, insects and leaves that you see featured in my jewellery are still encased within the copper of the finished jewellery piece.
As a finishing touch, patinas are often added to the surface of the copper to achieve different shades of darkness on the surface of the metal. Some copper creations are also plated over with other metals such as nickel for a different metallic effect.
Using the art of electroforming, I am able to immortalise natural treasures into unique copper amulets that celebrate the organic forms of the natural world. Working with organic shapes also means that each piece is a completely unique, one of a kind creation.
A demonstration video of my process is available on my Instagram page.
ethics & sustainability
Wild Incantations is inspired by my reverence and wonder for the natural world and all the creatures that live within it, and I take great care to avoid harming any living creatures in my creative process. Most animal remains are gathered by me on my wilderness adventures, and this never involves hunting living creatures. This extends from large creatures right down to the smallest insects that you see featured in my jewellery. Any remains collected are handled with deep care and respect, and I am always mindful to leave the smallest footprint I can in order to make minimal impact on the land. While the majority of the materials I work with are gathered in this way, I am also often fortunate enough to receive donations of natural treasures from friends who are ethically aligned.
Foraging is one of my favourite parts of my creative process, as it means that every bone, insect or leaf featured in my amulets has a unique origin story connected to the wild place it was discovered in. It also means that availability of certain styles of jewellery is completely dependant on the natural treasures that I find by happenstance. This element of chance makes each and every discovery all the more precious and delightful, and contributes to the uniqueness of each creation.
Any leather products used in my jewellery are sourced as sustainably as possible and primarily feature sustainably sourced kangaroo leather or leather scraps & offcuts that would otherwise end up as waste.
Commitment to sustainability extends to all packaging used in shipping. All packaging used to ship Wild Incantations jewellery is either biodegradable or recyclable. You can compost the mailing bags, boxes, shipping label stickers, tissue paper and ribbons (yes, even the ribbons!) and all paper is recyclable. I am endlessly grateful for our beautiful home planet and am mindful of choosing eco-friendly options wherever possible.
