Anna Williams

Insatiable Longing

Australia, 2010

Necklace

Materials:

Copper, patina, dye sublimated photograph

printed on aluminum

Dimension in cm:

5 x 6.5 x 0.45

Artist Statement:

History shows there has always been

recourse to war when diplomacy fails; the

more distant the decision is made from

those who actually fight and their families,

the greater is the risk of losing

understanding of the enormous,

overwhelming, irreversible catastrophe that

the loss of young lives is to families and

loved ones. The pendant appears rusted to

make clear the antiquity and duration of

this pain that impacts so intensely on so

many lives. In the photograph a mother

reaches desperately towards the headstone

on her son’s grave, hoping against hope

that somehow she can reach him, but

knowing that nothing she can do will ever

bring him back. This is what war really is;

the greatest human pain, and this cost

multiplied many many times is the real cost

of conflict that must be weighed up when

decisions are made so far away to enter into

wars.

What was your starting point, or your

inspiration, for doing this project?

My 27 year old son’s death, and my feelings

about that. Although he did not die in a

war, he died at an age when so many

soldiers die, and it enormously expanded

my compassion for everyone who has ever

lost someone they were close to at that time

when the person was on the brink of a full

adult life, with so much promise and hope.

To have lost someone in that way due to

decisions made by leaders, must be

unendurable agony; such pain needs to be

brought into the forefront of

considerations, and that cost needs to be

brought into full focus time and time again,

so it is never forgotten or taken lightly.

What were the main reasons for choosing

the materials, shapes or technique in your

work?

Apart from the antiquity implied by the

flaking patina, the contrast of its deep black

with the copper gives the piece greater

impact I think. The copper has a warm

earthy tone, emphasizing the seriousness

and fundamentality of the issue the piece

addresses. The drop of blood is large and

red, contrasting with the black of the patina

– and black and red together as a color

combination is synonymous with danger,

again a key message of my piece.

What kind of feeling you wish the viewers

will get from your work?

Reflection, compassion for a universal and

enduring tragedy (bereavement due to

causes bigger than oneself and possibly

outside one’s understanding). A reasoned

and informed evaluation of the human

impact of a decision to go to war.

If you could give your Jewelry to an

important figure in the Middle East who

will he/she be? and why?

Not to one political leader, as it would

imply that person had more accountability

for the loss than others similarly

empowered. I would prefer the piece be

given to the art curator of the United

Nations, and put on display prominently

where power brokers would have an

opportunity to see it and ponder the

enormity of the impact of decisions that

they make.

Personal information:

personal website:

www.annamwilliamsjewellery.com

Top 3 materials:

sterling silver, dye sublimated photographs

printed on sublimated photographs printed

on aluminum, copper.

My dream is:

A gentler world