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Artist Statement
The human body is the context and content of my jewellery. The anatomical and microscopic worlds are where I find a beauty and complexity I want to materialize through adornment. I am intrigued by how we represent what we can not see within ourselves through new scientific imagery and visual data. These representations of the invisible body reflect our humanity in an era of remarkable medical and biological advancement.
Historically, jewellers have often drawn upon the natural world for inspiration. The quest for knowledge in the natural sciences has revealed forms that are now known to be part of our natural world: cell structures, biomolecules, viruses and atomic orbits, to name a few. Through traditional and digital technologies I use familiar jewellery materials to render unfamiliar forms. From the fields of biology, pathology and genomics, these hybrid forms are manipulated to create a contemporary language of ornament. In wearing my jewellery, the invisible body becomes visible adornment.
Bio
Paul McClure received his training from NSCAD University, Halifax, Canada (BFA); Escola Massana, Barcelona, Spain; and National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland (MA). He has been a practicing studio jeweller for over twenty years and has shown throughout North America, Europe and Asia in various invitational group and solo exhibitions. His work is represented in many publications as well as private and public collections including The Barcelona Museum of Decorative Arts, The National Museums of Scotland, and The Canadian Museum of Civilization.
In addition to his studio practice, McClure is an educator, curator and community arts organizer. Since 2000 he has been professor in Jewellery Studies at George Brown College in Toronto.
Read an Interview between Paul and Barbara Isherwood in MetalSmith magazine here
