By Museum of Freedom and Tolerance
Connexions
Eden Lennox
Eden Lennox was born in Australia where her paternal Ashkenazi Jewish grandmother sought refuge with her children after the Holocaust.
Her father arrived in Australia with his mother and younger sister after WWII. Arriving with little more than a single suitcase and a ‘waste not-want not’ mentality, they created homes, formed new families and built a life here.
Lennox’s work is indelibly informed by her cultural identity. She uses bold pop and punk symbols, representative of her upbringing, in stark calculated arrangements to illustrate the mixing, melting and amalgamation of a modern migrant in the Australian landscape.
Blended. (2020) by Eden Lennox and Photo: Rob FrithMuseum of Freedom and Tolerance
Blended.
Found objects, brass, copper, steel, aluminum, 925 silver, enamel, acrylic & faux gold leaf.
“I consider how jewellery conveys a social message to induce a shared recall of time, inviting curiosity or playfulness. I aim to construct forms which convey a social message, to build visual tension using the mechanisms of metonymy and metaphor. I consider reuse, the up-cycling ethos and visual aesthetics seated in post-punk.” – Eden Lennox
Eden Lennox (2020) by Eden LennoxMuseum of Freedom and Tolerance
Watch: Eden Lennox
"In Australia we don't address class, it's not talked about enough. But it's politically noticeable, in the material world, it's evident in social space."
1990s horse (2019) by Eden Lennox and Photo: Rob FrithMuseum of Freedom and Tolerance
1990s horse
Earrings; found object, cubic zirconia, 925 silver with patina, acrylic & enamel.
"I'm making bespoke pieces, with non-previous objects." - Eden Lennox
About the Connexions Exhibit
Organised by Blandine Hallé and Melissa Cameron, Connexions came from a desire to share contemporary Australian jewellery with the world.
This became augmented by what Hallé and Cameron wanted to share about Australia, versus what was at the forefront of the news media at the time; namely the Christchurch Massacres, perpetrated by an Australian.
Selected for their existing contribution to this dialogue, each artist mines and interrogates their own histories for their artwork. Together, the complex, nuanced and diverse works portray Australia as a community that respects difference and honours diversity and complexity, more effectively than any single dialogue in which we might hope to engage could.
All works by Eden Lennox for Connexions Exhibition at Galerie Assemblages, 13 - 31 October 2020. All photographs by Rob Frith. Words by Laura Deakin and Melissa Cameron.
Header Image: “1987 Driving Lesson” (2019) by Eden Lennox, photographed by Rob Frith. (Necklace; found objects, acrylic, enamel, brass, steel & wood.)
Short Films by VAM Media
Filming & Production: Brendan Hutchens
Post Production: Steven Alyian
Music: Envelope