LOOK Gala 2024

Created for the 2024 LOOK Gala, this one-of-a-kind art jewelry piece blends personal storytelling, environmental history, and a nod to the playful irreverence of Dada art. The design originates from curvilinear shapes I developed using weather data from the 2013 Calgary floods—a catastrophic event that reshaped both the city’s landscape and my awareness of climate impacts. These flowing forms, usually found in my large-scale artworks, were reimagined in miniature for this wearable statement piece. Each shape was cut from the pages of art magazines, creating an intentional collision of image, texture, and color sourced from the contemporary art world. Encased in resin, the forms took on a glossy, tactile quality, preserving their paper origins while giving them the durability of jewelry. The shapes were then strung together into an oversized, poncho-like necklace—part armor, part adornment—designed to drape dramatically over the shoulders. To heighten the piece’s theatricality and echo the Gala’s opulent atmosphere, I incorporated extra chains and reflective beads, allowing the necklace to shimmer and shift with movement. This layering of materials and textures created a visual rhythm, balancing the playful absurdity of Dada with an underlying seriousness rooted in climate memory. Worn over a simple black dress, the necklace became both a conversation piece and a performance of the Gala’s theme, “Dada Art.” It embodied the spirit of disruption, repurposing, and unexpected beauty—qualities that continue to inform my practice. This work stands as an example of how my process translates into wearable art, transforming environmental data into a bold, sculptural form that exists not just to be seen, but to be experienced in motion and in person.