Lisa Walker: Unwearable

TheNewDowse celebrates the achievements of one of New Zealand’s most internationally successful jewellers.

'Unwearable' is a survey exhibition that traces the dramatic changes in Lisa Walker’s practice since the early 1990s - a tantalising transition from traditional and functional to unwearable.

Trading in her soldering torch for the fast draw of the glue gun, Walker has spent the past 15 years living and working in Europe where her jewellery has evolved beyond the realm of practicality. The show coincides with her return from Germany with her family to live in Wellington.

An original member of Auckland’s Workshop 6 jewellery workshop, Lisa Walker left New Zealand in 1995 to further her jewellery studies in Munich with leading jeweller, Professor Otto Künzli.

At that time she was known in her homeland for her beautifully-crafted brooches that resembled seashell-like forms. In Germany, Walker abandoned metal for the unpredictability of found materials, pursuing possibilities beyond the confines of the practical.

'Unwearable' will be on display from 12 December 2009 - 25 April 2010.