Image: Feather Hugs neck piece, sterling silver, 250x250mm, 2010, Photograph: Artist
Linda van Niekerk
After a successful business career, Linda van Niekerk switched her attention firstly to a degree in psychology and then more recently, to a long-time passion with jewellery. Born in South Africa, she relocated from Sydney to the beautiful Huon Valley in Tasmania's south in 2005. Thinking of herself as a conceiver of wearable sculpture rather than a jeweller, Linda enlisted the help of a private tutor to teach her the technical skills which would allow her to follow her own, sometimes unorthodox, approach to design. Her work is bold, visually striking and deceptively simple. "Although my designs often reflect a contemporary interpretation of the aesthetic of my birth place, Africa, I find myself increasingly influenced by the pristine natural beauty of my new home in Tasmania. My desire is to create elegantly informal sculptural forms that encourage the wearer to be bold and walk tall." Linda's unconventional style has gained recognition. She has presented solo exhibitions in Sydney, Hobart, Launceston, Adelaide and has curated and participated in group shows. She was selected as a finalist in the City of Hobart Art Prize '06 and the Contemporary Wearables '07 Jewellery Awards. In January 2009 she was invited to support Tourism Tasmania's G'Day USA events and have her jewellery worn and exhibited in San Francisco and New York.
