Pāua: A Contemporary Jewellery Story

Pāua - A Contemporary Jewellery Story installation view. Photo: Mark Tantrum

Jane Dodd, St Ursus (top), The Great Southern Ocean (centre), Pauapus (bottom), 2018. Courtesy of The Judgeford Collection. Photo: Mark Tantrum

Pāua - A Contemporary Jewellery Story, selected works. Photo: Mark Tantrum

Jennifer Laracy, Big Twist Brooch, 2020. Courtesy of the artist.

Jennifer Laracy, Ashtray, 2020. Smokers Private Collection, New Plymouth

Lisa Walker, Necklace, 2021. Courtesy of the Judgeford Collection

Pāua A Contemporary Jewellery Story 1.jpg — Warwick Freeman, *Brooch,* circa 1984. Collection of The Dowse Art Museum, gifted by Malcolm Harrison 1994

Whether its glimmering surface evokes nostalgia or cultural cringe, pāua is undeniably linked with the visual character of Aotearoa New Zealand. This exhibition reveals contemporary jewellers’ impressions of how a shell infiltrated our national psyche, exploring everything from its use in Māori whakairo rākau (carving) to its appearance in kiwiana and souvenir shops.

Dazzling and contemplative, Pāua: A Contemporary Jewellery Story includes over seventy works from The Dowse, Auckland Museum, Te Papa and private collections. It also features pieces belonging to Hutt Valley local Wendy Judgeford, who commissions leading jewellers to explore what pāua means to them.

Read the exhibition interpretation text here.

Artists in Pāua: A Contemporary Jewellery Story are Alan Preston, Anna Balasoglou, Areta Wilkinson, Brian Adam, Craig McIntosh, Elena Gee, Frances Stachl, Gina Matchitt, Inia Taylor, Jane Dodd, Jennifer Laracy, Jenny Pattrick, Karl Fritsch, Lisa Walker, Maca Bernal, Moniek Schrijer, Neke Moa, Owen Mapp, Pauline Bern, Paul Mason, Rangi Kipa, Ray Mitchell, Ross Malcolm, Roy Mason, Ruth Baird, Sandra Schmid, Sharon Fitness, Vanessa Arthur and Warwick Freeman.