Koodak Award for Enamelling Prize for Technical Excellence.


WHIMSY IN THE ORDINARY: AN EXPLORATION OF THE MUNDANE, ROUTINE AND PRECIOUSNESS THROUGH JEWELLERY.

My practice explores the domestic space and the ordinary with a focus on processes and objects involved in food preparation. My work looks at the repetitive and tedious tasks we perform on a regular basis and seeks to find whimsy in the mundane. I first became interested in the familiar during the 2020-2021 Melbourne COVID-19 lockdowns. During this period, I took refuge in routine and the familiar. Seeking out beauty in everyday things and making an active effort to appreciate moments I would otherwise overlook helped me to find joy during an incredibly challenging time. My work approaches these tedious activities with a sense of whimsy and play, aiming to uncover new beauty in the ‘boring’. My work challenges ideas around what we consider precious and to find beauty in the little moments that make up day-to-day life. These tasks and objects are contrasted with jewellery forms as a means to explore the value of an object/labour.

instagram: @beth_sanderson_

Beth Sanderson, enamelling for 'Playing House' 2023, image credit Jale Serzai
Beth Sanderson, enamelling process, 2023. Photo: Jale Serzai

Beth Sanderson, installation of ‘Playing House’ 2023, mild steel, copper, vitreous enamel, stainless steel, sterling silver, largest 21 x 3 x 3cm
Beth Sanderson, installation of ‘Playing House’, 2023, mild steel, copper, vitreous enamel, stainless steel, sterling silver, largest 21 x 3 x 3cm

Beth Sanderson, three brooches, mild steel, vitreous enamel, silver foil, 2023
Beth Sanderson, three brooches, 2023, mild steel, vitreous enamel, silver foil

Beth Sanderson, ‘Trolley Bits’ 2023, series of six brooches, mild steel, vitreous enamel, stainless steel, sterling silver, gold foil, largest 17.5 x 5 x 2.5cm
Beth Sanderson, ‘Trolley Bits’, 2023, series of six brooches, mild steel, vitreous enamel, stainless steel, sterling silver, gold foil, largest 17.5 x 5 x 2.5cm

Beth Sanderson, Implements 2023, chatelaine, mild steel, vitreous enamel, 27 x 22 x 6cm
Beth Sanderson, ‘Implements’, 2023, chatelaine, mild steel, vitreous enamel, 27 x 22 x 6cm

Beth Sanderson, forming steel for ‘Playing House’ 2023, image credit Jale Serzai
Beth Sanderson, forming steel for ‘Playing House’, 2023. Photo: Jale Serzai

Beth Sanderson, still from performance video 2023, video 8.20 minutes, image credit James Heywood
Beth Sanderson, performance video, 2023 [still], video duration 8’20”. Photo: James Heywood

Beth Sanderson, enamelling progress images from ‘Playing House’ 2023
Beth Sanderson, enamelling progress for ‘Playing House’, 2023
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Beth Sanderson