Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery

METRO
July 19, 2007
FIVE QUESTIONS FOR . . . JULIA HARRISON
Julia Harrison carves mouths, cleavages and other intimate body parts out of wood. Her sensuous and unsettlingly lifelike jewellery forms part of Wood You? an exhibition at Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery comprising 13 artists producing innovative wooden adornments.
What do you like about carving wood? I like the immediacy of it. Also the wood comes in a range of colours and the grain is really lifelike. I'm at an age where I'm watching myself change from day to day, with wrinkles appearing. If I carve something the right way, from one angle it will look really smooth and from another the light will pick up the flecks and grain.
Why do you carve pieces based on body parts? I've always been interested in how the body records your experiences with bruises and scars, and seeing these features on other people. I'm fascinated by how jewellery is worn on the body and it collects your life's experiences but, in a lot of ways, it denies them. My work responds to that in a very personal way.
What reactions has your work inspired? I had a weird thing happen recently where a gallery put my work on its website and someone linked to the images on a pornographic blog. They were incredibly popular and the gallery website had to shut down as it had 9,000 hits in three days.
Does it take a bold person to wear your jewellery? I think it's either somebody who is outgoing, or someone who is quiet and wants the jewellery to speak for them. I nearly sold my bracelet Origin [which features a vagina] to a drag queen, but unfortunately it was too small for her.
What are you working on at present? I'm working on a series called The Rosebuds, which are babies' mouths. A lot of my friends are having babies at the moment and they're these little alien creatures with strange mouths.
Abi Bliss.