POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

'Mobius Bandolier' neckpiece by Rowena Gough

Object No. 94/231/1

Rowena Gough has been interested in the ways in which body coverings can be physically and emotionally 'protective'. The button bandolier is worn across the heart as a protective device. It is better worn over the shoulder and around the neck, rather than just around the neck. The Mobius strip is a sign of infinity, representing for Gough, a fluidity of gesture, a philosophy of continuous movement and progression. Macquarie dictionary: Mobius strip...'a continuous one-sided surface, as formed by half twisting a strip, as of paper or cloth, and joining the ends.' Gough now sees a reference in her work to shell objects from the South Pacific. Before her visits to New Zealand, she hadn't see much jewellery that used shell. She believes that New Zealand does place itself philosophically in the South Pacific. Gough also likes the relationship Aboriginal people have with shells. Gough has combined found objects with precious metal. The work also has a reference to soldier's bandoliers, ribbons of royal awards, and also the decorative objects of the Asia-Pacific that use buttons for decoration. The first button necklace Gough made in 1992 was made of family baby buttons. Gough came from a country family who saved these buttons in a phial in the button box. When she made this necklace she knew she wanted to work with meshing. Detail and process are important, the metal is melted filing. She now acquires old buttons in stacks of 800 on cards, and has to drill the extra holes (two more for the internal rows, one more for the edge rows).