About the Artwork
“My practice is concerned with transposing traditional vernacular craft methods into metal, and I frequently return to rural straw braiding techniques. However, straw is a beautiful if humble material in and of itself. In late summer, along freshly strimmed farm tracks glints of gold are plentiful underfoot as grasses come unwrapped from their papery sheaths and dry under the sun; it can feel like finding treasure.
Honouring their own inherent material qualities, these grasses set in brass were gathered close to home from Edinburgh’s Braid Hills. With their natural iridescence and subtle but vast array of colours, they resemble various alloys of gold wire, and are no less precious.” - Imogen Hales
About the Artist
Imogen Hales is a jeweller and artist based in Edinburgh who applies traditional craft skills in contemporary and unconventional ways. Her wearable pieces engage with craft heritage as a playful and living language, exploring the role of traditions and rituals in preserving the collective memory of place.
With a focus on rural landscapes, where life was once intimately tied to the cyclical rhythms of the seasons, Imogen transposes endangered straw braiding techniques into metal wire and creates lively, painterly surfaces through the application of enamel. Via the repetitive and meditative act of braiding she attempts to momentarily build a bridge to a slower moving world, evoking an intimacy with the past.
