ESCAPE FROM THE TOWER
:
A COLLECTION OF JEWELLERY BY KATE JAMES
Escape from the Tower is a collection of hand-crafted necklaces constructed from horsehair and sterling silver using handmade tools and equipment. Employing uncommon techniques and practices that I have taught myself, these necklaces began as an exploration of my connection to my horses.
This collection was inspired by 'cowboy crafts', including horsehair hitching and braiding, as well as traditional Victorian hairwork jewellery of sentiment. The labour-intensive method of their construction resulted in pieces that are durable and strong, yet delicate in design, with a beautiful lustre provided by the horsehair.
Through the incorporation of knots in some of the designs, the pieces reference the working relationship of man and beast, whilst their likeness to rope (albeit a very fancy rope) alludes to the paradoxical nature of rope as a tool of both control and escape, restraint and release.
