Liv Boyle — 'Blue Straw' Necklace, 2023

The idea for blue straw emerged as I sat on the banks of the Yarra and watched objects float by; twigs, jellyfish, and many kinds of plastic waste. Most notably, a blue straw.

There is something impossible about the colour blue in a muddy river, absurd yet miraculous, both jewel-like and toxic. Like a great lung, I watched the river suck the straw back into itself with the tide change.

Back home in New Zealand, I noticed similar levels of plastic waste in the water bodies I grew up with, the objects again striking me as simultaneously beautiful and deadly.

For this piece, I used a driftwood reed found on the shores of Lake Taupo, painted with gouache in cerulean blue. To honour and emphasise the fragile nature of the reed, a fracture incurred during travel is repaired with gold foil (in the spirit of Kintsugi). The adjustable toggle is made with silk, silver, and a fragment of marine plastic.

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New Zealand-born cross-disciplinary artist Liv Boyle works in Naarm, Melbourne. Liv collects and re-imagines materials with site-specific relevance, transforming discrete findings into contemporary jewellery and objects. Her work investigates peripheries such as beaches, often referencing indicator species in ecosystems under pressure. Exploring the relational values of art and science, collaboration underpins and enriches Liv’s research-based practice. Liv holds a BFA in Sculpture, Elam School of Fine Arts, The University of Auckland (2005), and an Advanced Diploma of Jewellery Engineering, Melbourne Polytechnic (2013).

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Invocations

Read about the exhibition

Material: driftwood (Lake Taupo), gouache, sterling silver, stainless steel, beach plastic (Kohimaramara), silk, fine gold

Dimensions: approx. 69 x 0.7 x 0.7cm