Talisman, Tool and Touchstone Exhibition

This solo exhibition of contemporary metal work was created as part of the practice-based component of Dr. Oliver Smith’s PhD, drawing on the long tradition of animal symbolism crafted in metal, drawing on archaeology, anthropology, and a particular Nordic worldview and comprises of four suites of work:

Periapts – A series of pendants exploring the origins of adornment and the zoomorphic root of representation;

Manifest Destiny – A group of small sculptures expressing ideas contained in the legend of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer;

Stone, Bone, Iron – A series of small sculptures looking at the Three Age System and material agency in combination with animal symbolism; and

Elemental Arc and the Vital Vector – A collection of coins.