Artist of the Month, October 2023 - Anne Earls Boylan

Anne Earls Boylan is an established contemporary Jeweller who studied 3D design at Ulster Polytechnic, before moving to London to complete a Masters in Jewellery Design at the Royal College of Art, and a PGCE from University College London. Anne returned to Northern Ireland in 1991 and became a Lecturer at the University of Ulster, leaving in 2021. Over a 40-year period of working with diverse materials and technologies, Anne brings comment, materials, and form together as contemporary jewels. She believes the wearing of jewellery should be an act of consideration, a small statement of individuality, values, strength, joy, and rebelliousness. She has exhibited nationally and internationally and is the current Chair of ACJSNI.

Collar: Deep Blue and White is part of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland Art Collection. The Seedhead form, pearls and printed material are laden with layers of historical and contemporary codes. Deep blue, a rare, captivating, and expensive pigment assigned to denote the Virgin; pearls a chaste embellishment to her garments. The process, a signifier of progress, innovation, and currency. Yet not all is as it seems. A collar can also be defined in negative terms, a strap, a chain, a strong material placed around the neck of an animal. Invisible undercurrents of power, control and contradictions seem ever-present.

Further information about Anne and her work can be found on her website www.anneearlsboylan.com