Emmeline Hastings: otherworldly jewels

Abstract

• I remember the day I first encountered the work of Emmeline Hastings. It was in the wonderfully titled Not Too Precious exhibition of 25 international artists, who, as curator Dr Elizabeth Goring stated in the introduction to the catalogue, represented those makers who were ‘dedicated to using materials for their expressive potential rather than for intrinsic value’. The necklace and brooch in the show captivated me and challenged my sensory understanding of what I saw. Evoking longforgotten memories – of hunting for quartz along the banks of a river as a child and tracing the lines of pyrite hidden within – they made me question whether these curious jewels were really made of acrylic or something else.