Upland Road Track: Mapping a Durational Record of Place Through Jewellery Making

Abstract

This site-specific jewellery project explores the interconnectedness of walking, place, memory and time, viewing bush pathways as sites of temporal collaboration between those who journey along them and their environment. Beginning with a methodology of daily “gathering walks” along Upland Road Track in Whakanewha Regional Park, Te-Motu-Ārai-Roa/Waiheke Island, I collect materials to create durational jewellery. It is through and with these materials that impressions of place are embodied within the objects, carrying traces of a relationship formed over time. These artworks serve as site-specific mementoes that consider how jewellery may foster a somatic connection to place. The project aims to highlight ethical ecological practices, acknowledging our role as caretakers of the pathway and its inhabitants.