Sculpting in sand – Marsha Golemac for FRESHLY SHUCKED

For our new exhibition, FRESHLY SHUCKED, we teamed up with the talented art director Marsha Golemac to create a visual campaign that would hero the remarkable collection of contemporary handmade jewellery developed for the show. Linking to this, she has also designed the installation for the exhibition in store.

You'll likely have come across Marsha's work for The Coolhunter, Cereal magazine, Modern Times, Artedomus and more. We were incredibly excited to work with her for this special exhibition which pays homage to one of the world's most luxurious gems – and the only gem to be produced by a living organism.

"Pieces of Eight gallery holds a unique place within the world of jewellery. Every piece is treated like a work of art and this exhibition is no exception," says Marsha. "I love how each piece is individual but works as a collective; capturing the beauty of the jewel."

Taking inspiration from the works by our artists Seb Brown, Jeremy Bryant, Kieran Jackson, Melanie Katsalidis, Nina Oikawa, Anna Sheffield, Julia Storey and Ruth Tomlinson, Marsha has created a dream-like landscape of intricately formed sand dunes. Nestled upon this beautiful sand formations are delicate and wondrous pearl jewels.

"Conceptually it was about creating a simple, contrasting environment that talks to the origin of the pearl whilst accentuating the designs themselves," muses Marsha. "I selected dried sand, often used in zen gardens as it holds its form, to create sculptural landscapes for the pieces to sit within."

Creating such beautiful formations is not easy, and many hours were spent pouring and touching up. Working with photographer Lillie Thompson, "we explored a number of pouring vessels and delivery heights to [achieve] our final formations," says Marsha. "That said, the end result is really a credit to the structure of the dried sand."

View contemporary pearl jewels online.