Kawakawa Leaf Brooch

Jeweller Warwick Freeman (Nelson, New Zealand, born 1953)

Date1999

Object NameBrooch

Mediumgreenstone, oxidised silver

ClassificationsJewellery

DimensionsHeight: 6cm
Width: 6.1cm

AcquisitionPurchased in 2007 with assistance from the National Fund for Acquisitions.

LocationOn Display - Gallery 08

Object numberABDAG011333

Keywords

About MeWarwick Freeman was born in Nelson, New Zealand in 1953. Largely self-taught, he took up jewellery-making in Perth, Australia, in 1972, following two years of travel. Returning to New Zealand in 1973, he initially established a workshop in Nelson before moving to Auckland in 1975.

For over twenty years Warwick Freeman has been making jewellery that speaks about the complexities of living in Aotearoa New Zealand. Prominent amongst a number of self-taught jewellers who revolutionised contemporary jewellery practice in Aotearoa in the 1980s, Freeman is unique in his continued questioning of cultural identity and jewellery practice.

Freeman responds to the natural or 'found' structures of materials and engages with Pacific traditions of adornment. He grapples with the complex questions of cultural identity, particularly the issues of Maori culture and the often contentious debate about ownership of cultural symbols.

More About Me

Collections Wall

Kawakawa is a plant found in northern New Zealand. Its leaves are heart shaped, like this brooch. The leaves are still used by the Maori to this day for culinary and medicinal purposes.

Exhibitions

Gallery 08 - Adorning