Knowledge is Power

These neckpieces were inspired by the science fiction film The Matrix (1999) for a 2011 group exhibition, Final Frontier/Contemporary Jewellery Explorations of the Cinematic Future.

Artist statement

You can pretty much get away with anything under the heading of science fiction. It’s possibly the ultimate playground for the imagination, with as much, or as little, basis in reality as the filmmaker chooses. It makes for some groundbreaking films.

My inspiration is this limitless aspect of the science fiction genre and, more specifically, of The Matrix. I have an embarrassing inability to retain films in my memory once I’ve seen them. This one, though, has somehow stayed with me, despite my indifference to Keanu Reeves.

Imagine being able to access everything there is to know about any subject by plugging into a computer and downloading the information directly into your head. There’s something very appealing about that. Is it the efficiency? Or that knowledge is power, perhaps?

The strong visual effects of the film are hard to ignore. From the raining, green numeric code of the Matrix to ‘lots of guns’ appearing like high-speed trains into white space. It is this visual repetition that makes its way into my work.

So I’ve made a kind of wearable ammunition — lots of it — to depict limitless power.