Self-Guided Trail: Seeds of Change: Self-Guided Tour
Work 2 of 12

A South Australian craftsperson and metalworker who makes contemporary jewellery and vessels, Julie Blyfield draws on South Australia’s nineteenth-century gold- and silversmithing traditions, which utilised Australian flora and fauna motifs in elaborate centrepieces and jewellery. Blyfiedl sees her work as an extension of this history, taking inspiration from historic botanic specimens across South Australia’s landscapes, as well as plants and flowers she has collected herself. Her work with plants enables her to observe human interactions with the natural world and comment on issues of drought, extinction, and environmental destruction. Primarily working in gold and sterling silver, Blyfield uses the techniques of oxidisation, chasing and repoussé to create delicate and detailed works.

Drought vessel, 2009, is constructed from finely chased silver leaves, which form an open vessel. The permeable nature of Blyfield’s vessel means that it cannot hold water and represents her response to the parched Australian landscapes of the millennium drought.