7/10

This piece was made for the 2025 Contemporary Jewellery Exchange, where twenty four jewellers from around the world were paired up to converse, share, and create a piece of jewellery, for the other, based on their dialogue. My partner had a transformative experience while snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef. This led her to focusing on marine care in her personal and jewellery career.

Both of us are aware of the damaging effects that mining, overfishing, coral harvesting, pollution, and global warming are having on our oceans. One devastating statistic that we discussed was the fact that 70 percent of the Great Barrier Reef had experienced bleaching during the bleaching event in 2024. 2025 is the second time that there has been a consecutive mass bleaching event there.

According to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, coral bleaching is “When corals are under stress, they expel the microscopic algae that live in their tissues. Without these algae, corals' tissues become transparent, exposing their white skeleton. This is called coral bleaching. Bleached corals are not dead, but are more at risk of starvation and disease.” The more extensive and more often that coral are exposed to bleaching, the harder it is to recover and the more likely they are to die completely.

We decided that we would use this statistic and research bleaching as the impetus for our jewellery collaboration.

My piece, entitled 7/10, is made from handmade paper that has been stiffened and waterproofed. Each bead is constructed of six circles of folded paper. There are thirty beads. Nine are brightly coloured. The remaining 70 percent are natural, symbolising the bleached coral.

2025

Handmade Paper, Reclaimed Vintage Beads, Nylon

40 x 40 x 4cm