ReCollections: 1973 - 2013 | GalleryTwo 19 April - 8 June at JamFactory

ReCollections features 40 utilitarian, domestic and wearable objects, or groups of objects, acquired by their owners from JamFactory over the past 40 years and lent to us for the occasion of JamFactory’s 40th anniversary.

It celebrates JamFactory’s history of producing and selling beautiful, well-designed and durable things for use in everyday life. 

The exhibition looks back over the past 40 years through the owners’ memories and stories surrounding the hand-made objects they acquired from JamFactory since its inception in 1973. Some of the objects selected for ReCollections may be humble but they have become special to their owners as they accumulated a patina of use and an intangible aura of memories.

Thank you to the people who have lent work for the exhibition and shared their stories with us.

Tom Moore, Blown glass cat, 2003. Lent by Kate Cullity

This piece was a 50th birthday present from Janice Lally to Kate’s partner, landscape architect Kevin Taylor, who was killed in a car crash in 2011. She writes: ‘It sits in our dining area with pictures of Kevin.
It always reminds me of Kevin’s great 50th , the first real birthday party he ever had!’

Gerry Wedd, porcelain teacup and saucer, 1993. Lent by Kay Lawrence

 Kay Lawrence comments: ‘…the cup is painted with a man, hand over his heart.
It has never been used because I don’t drink tea, but I loved it for its sentiment.’

Stephen Bowers teapot and tea caddy, 1990/91. Lent by Peter Gilchrist

 These pieces reveal the transition in Bowers’ ceramic painting towards an ever more complex bricolage of imagery borrowed from diverse sources, with cockatoos as the recurring, iconic centrepiece. The teapot and caddy have become more ceremonial than utilitarian, and are used by Peter Gilchrist primarily for display. They were bought from JamFactory during Bowers’ term as head of the Ceramics Studio (1990-99).

Marcus Champ, dragon fly brooch, c.mid 1980s. Lent by Winnie Pelz

 Champ made a very popular series of dragon-fly brooches from recycled rulers. This brooch is an early example of a growing trend since the 1980s to move away from precious metals, and to make creative adaptation of recycled media.

Carlier Makigawa brooch, c.1983. Lent by Winnie Pelz

 Winnie bought this from the artist’s exhibition at the Jam Factory in the early 1980s and has worn it continuously ever since.

Shakey Textiles, knitted outfit with zip-out sleeves. Lent by Jennifer Layther

 Jennifer Layther was head of the Knitted Textiles Workshop from 1982-90. The studio team produced a line of garments, Lincz Knitwear, and in addition Jennifer designed and made outfits like this one for her own label, Shakey Textiles. She recalls that she wore her outfits everywhere, often teaming them with spotted leather shoes or with black and white cowboy boots.
She remembers working around the clock, taking her work with her to friends’ places and even to hip 1980s nightclub, Limbo, where she used to sit on the floor ‘darning the ends’.

Pair of Stanislav Melis glasses with canework stems, 1980. Lent by Dick Richards

 These glasses were presented to Dick Richards when he retired from the Jam Factory board after overseeing the organisation’s creation and its frequently turbulent early years.

Ian White camera case, c.1980. Lent by Grant Hancock

 Hancock commissioned Ian White to make a bespoke bag for his valuable Hasselblad camera. It has sections custom-designed to hold specialised photographic parts.
He used the bag for many years during his commercial photography assignments on location.

Jf house brand stoneware coffee cup with Tasmanian myrtle saucer, 1981. Lent by Jeff Mincham

This is a sample of a ceramics studio line that sold ‘like hot cakes’ according to Mincham.