MONICA FINDLAY
Cluster Contemporary Jewellery Exhibitor 2022
Beneath Brooch | 2022 Steel, silver, scorched wood
Monica Findlay is a recent Silversmithing and Jewellery graduate living and producing work in Glasgow. Through making, she explores her curiosity for the material presence of the past, creating contemporary objects and jewellery that respond to personal narratives and historical artefacts found in the National Museum Scotland. Monica views her pieces as containers for memory, choosing boxes as a means of conceptual communication.
Beneath | 2022 Copper with patina
Forged hoops | 2022
Wind brooch | 2022 Silver,steel
With a body of work that interacts with both the domestic and the body, these forms are designed to store personal moments within their walls, collecting more over time. Each piece aims to evoke the nostalgia encountered upon interacting with objects that exist beyond our living memory, distant yet somewhat familiar.
Chainmail brooch | 2022 Steel, silver
Since Graduating with first-class honours, Monica has been recognised for her craft through the Hammerman Prize, been selected for prestigious opportunities to showcase through the Scottish Goldsmiths Trust. Most recently, she was awarded a two-year residency with The Glasgow School of Art, where she is currently producing a new collection.
Forged Spiral Ring | Silver
Monica Findlay in the Workshop
The material presence of the past informs the objects presented in this collection. Curiosity for generational relics, as evidence of lived experiences, influence these designs, and each piece aims to evoke a sense of antiquity. Using tactile techniques to place emphasis on the interrelation between memory and object, Monica tests the possibility of triggering nostalgia through manipulated materials. In 'Traces', etched textures and delicate wirework emulate inscribed memories, while embossed traces convey the absence of passing objects that once were in contact with the surface. Precious and non-precious metals accentuate habitual traces often overlooked, encouraging tactile and emotional engagement - extending curiosity from maker to viewer. Blending storytelling and archaeology, her body of work explores tangible remains, their surface qualities as important signifiers or touchstones of memories, both ancient and modern.
Traces Box | 2021 Silver,Copper with patina
LoopBrooch | Silver, copper patina
Intertwined | 2022 Silver, steel