Event Details
Vanessa Arthur is interested in “looking in wonder,” exploring connections between jewellery, paint, and our everyday surroundings. In 'Wonder Goggles', Arthur presents wearable and painted objects crafted from offcuts, precious metals, stones, and industrial materials. Her installation draws connections between the vast, awe-inspiring landscapes of nature and the smaller, mundane details of human-built environments.
The exhibition is partly inspired by Arthur’s first memory of wonder: at four years old, witnessing Halley’s Comet blaze across the sky in 1986 — one of only a few comets visible to the naked eye from Earth, appearing roughly every 75-80 years. This experience underpins her work 'Rubble Hubble', inspired by a painted and marked public wall she has reinterpreted as a night sky. Silver staples and ripped metal ‘paper’ form a comet and diffuse spray paint, galaxies.
Arthur experiments with ways of shifting scale and focus, creating unconventional structures for observation. A central metal hanging system, inspired by roadside signage and hand-crafted eyewear invite viewers to see familiar materials anew. In doing so, the artist encourages a deeper connection to the act of looking and celebrates the wonder of everyday awe.
Vanessa Arthur is a jeweller and artist based in Heretaunga Hastings. She has exhibited nationally and internationally for more than a decade. In 2011, she completed a Bachelor of Applied Arts at Whitireia NZ, and shortly afterwards was selected for Handshake, a leading national mentorship programme for contemporary jewellers. Since then, Arthur has regularly exhibited at key platforms, including Munich Jewellery Week, one of the most influential events for international contemporary jewellery.
