Centre exhibits work by emerging jeweller

SYDNEY — An artist-in-residence with the Cape Breton Centre for Craft and Design is showing her work in the avant-garde and psychedeliainspired exhibition, “Warning! Not Safe for Human Consumption.”

In a July 23 release, the centre said its third-floor gallery is filled with handcrafted containers, mirrors, lamps and other luminescent artworks in vibrant colours from unusual materials by emerging jeweller and metalsmith Aleena Derohanian.

Derohanian described her style as “inspired by post-modern maximalist interior design with thematic influences from pop culture, nostalgia, and psychedelia” and her work as “a combination of traditional silversmithing techniques and avant-garde approaches to material explorations.”

The main exhibition also includes a smaller exhibit titled “Behind the Scenes,” where Derohanian showcases used materials and scrap odds-and-ends left over from making the final pieces. A short film by Derohanian and Deanna Manolakos playing at the exhibit demonstrates the mechanical work behind the creations.

While visitors can’t touch the final artworks, there is a table of material samples that guests can examine to experience the tactile nature of the materials used throughout the exhibition.

The artist uses resin and foam combined with ornate and meticulously crafted hinges and sterling silver and brass closures.

Derohanian has been an artist-in-residence with the Centre since October 2020, teaching numerous courses and workshops on the basics of jewellery-making and metalsmithing.

After completing her residence, Derohanian will return to her undergraduate studies in jewellery and silversmithing at OCAD University in Toronto.

The exhibit is on display until Aug. 20 at CBCCD at 322 Charlotte St. in Sydney.