Rachel Simoons
Rachel Simoons — 'A model of human consciousness', 2023
“The fate of our times is characterized by rationalization and intellectualisation and, above all, by the disenchantment of the world.” – Max Weber, Science as a Vocation, 1918. How do we know? The Diagrams series speculates on rationality and knowledge, seeking a re-enchanted knowing. In this series, three dimensional hand-knitted silver wire diagrammatic objects playfully explore the forms through which knowledge is represented. They convey loving time spent with graphic abstractions of ideas, and the aesthetic values
that these diagrams exploit in convincing of abstract ideas. Floppy mathematical models transparently represent the forms of graphs without giving access to the bodies of knowledge they were designed to represent, leaving room for audiences to explore the aesthetics of knowledge representation from their own points of intersection and knowledge bases. The works are an intersection between contemporary jewellery and systems of knowledge.
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Rachel Simoons (she/her) is an artist jeweller. She completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts – Honours (Gold & Silversmithing) at RMIT in 2023, and technical training in jewellery design and engineering at Design Centre Enmore in 2017-2018. Coming from a Dutch Pakeha upbringing in Aotearoa/New Zealand, she is now based in Melbourne/Naarm. Simoons’s work is conceptually driven, using material experimentation to investigate economics, logic and bureaucratic structures. Her practice has grown from a deep interest in social constructions of knowledge. She holds an MSc in Social Research Methods from London School of Economics, and brings a previous career as a quantitative researcher to her arts practice through work that explores themes of rationality, control, and the absurd poetics of human endeavour.
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3 Feb - 9 March 2024
Fresh! celebrates the next wave of Victorian graduates in contemporary craft and design.
Presented annually since 1993, Fresh! showcases the energy, skill and innovation of some of the best graduating students from craft, design and fine art disciplines. Fresh! provides an important opportunity for graduates beginning their career as makers. The exhibition fosters the potential of graduating students and provides an insight into new directions of contemporary craft.
Fresh! 2024 will mark the 31st iteration of this annual program and exhibition.
Material: silver-plated copper wire
Dimensions: 12.5 x 9 x 6cm
Please note, all works will be available for collection at the end of the exhibition on March 12. For shipping enquiries, please contact shop@craft.org.au who will be available to provide an Art Courier quote.
