Olivia Hickey – Artists Statement

I have been fortunate to have spent much of my life in natural environments exploring the nooks and crannies of wilderness areas around the world. Natural places have been the driving passion of my life and have constantly filled me with wonder and inspiration. I do not interact with natural places in order to conquer them; I journey to know the land more intimately. I am drawn to the places that lie beyond where the roads end; deep within the forests, on the mountains where the earth touches the sky and on the edges where the land meets the ocean. These are the places that are sacred for me and in turn, naturally, are the spaces that I respond to with my art.

I am enthralled by the hidden details within the land and find myself captivated by the complexity and the beauty in the small. I collect natural treasures mindfully, mould them in place and transmute them into silver. This process ensures that minimal trace of my passing occurs and highlights the magic in the hidden details. It encodes a moment of time where the permanency of metal contrasts with the impermanence of place.

I am a site specific artist and being in place is essential to developing and creating my work.  All impressions have been recorded in the wild places so as not to remove anything from place and to negatively impact on the places I love. Moulds are made for jewellery, impressions are collected on paper, light and the wider landscape is recorded with my camera. I am enthralled by the hidden details and stories encoded in the landscape. I am captivated by the complexity and the beauty in the small and every time I visit find myself connecting deeper through discovering new aspects of place and developing my artistic voice through each discovery. Once I have collected my impressions I return to my off grid bush block by the Huon River and develop the textures into wearable pieces.

The places and ancient plants of Gondwana are all vulnerable places; due to both human impact and the far reaching and devastating impact that fire has and will have due to a changing climate. I capture the landscape as it is now and in doing so create permanent records of impermanent places. I create talismans that connect people to the ephemeral elements of place and when placed on the landscape on the body, they are in turn a tangible reminder of the place from where they came.

About the Artist

Olivia has worked in the field of outdoor/environmental education for over twenty years. Her interest of making jewellery was sparked through a chance meeting with a South American jeweller whilst she was travelling in Africa. This ignited a passion left to simmer whilst she was focused on extended journeys in remote environments. A serious injury left her unable to carry a pack for a number of years and in the void her love of making was rekindled. She moved to Tasmania in 2013 in order to study and completed an Advanced Diploma of Visual Arts (Jewellery).  Her work is influenced by the concepts of sculpture, land art, wilderness photography, environmental education and the discourse in contemporary jewellery.  

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