The Golden Land of the Sunny South

Anna Davern, Expedition Leader. object, articulated carriage, copper, printed steel, re-worked biscuit tin, silver chain, 300x120x45mm

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e.g.etal

167 Flinders Lane
Melbourne 3000

31 August-13 September
Mon-Thu 10am-6pm, Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 10-5pm

Drinks with the artist Fri 4 Sep, 5-7pm

Anna Davern brings contemporary jewellery to life, creating a mechanised diorama manipulated by handles, cranks and pulleys to play out a fantastical narrative. The diorama features a fictional retelling of colonial exploration in a strange, altered landscape - fused with the pomp and ceremony of Elizabethan tradition. Characters and props can be removed and worn as individual jewellery pieces or displayed as objects. Using images of kitsch Australiana found on old biscuit tins and historical imagery printed on to metal, Anna examines the idea of “Australian-ness”. Rearranging and reconstructing, Anna creates hybrid creatures and alternative tableaux: both as cultural commentary and as humorous acknowledgement of the hybrid nature of contemporary Australian society.

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Artists Anna Davern

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Anna Davern, The Duke of Devonshire, 2010, reworked biscuit tin, sublimate printed steel, garnet beads, copper base

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About the Artist

Anna Davern completed her undergraduate degree in Jewellery and Object Design at Sydney College of the Arts, followed by post-graduate studies and a Masters degree in Gold and Silversmithing at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). She is the recipient of numerous grants and awards and has participated in residencies in Sydney and Tallinn, Estonia. Anna often investigates the idea of ‘Australian-ness’ with a fittingly cheeky sense of humour and resourcefulness. Salvaging imagery from biscuit tins of the mid 20th century, Anna plays with and subverts cultural stereotypes to investigate notions of national identity.
annadavern.com.au/