Based in Adelaide, Jess works across two distinct materials, metal and glass, each with their own language and each allowing different interpretations of her themes. Where Dare’s metal work - largely jewellery - is robust, joyful, graphic and colourful, her glass work embraces the ethereal, transient and delicate aspects of both the material and the natural world she evokes with it.

As a jeweller I have always been drawn to the miniature, it’s how I view the world, in small minute details. For me, this intimate scale draws people into my sense of wonder, whilst the gigantic thrusts a world upon the viewer. I also use this scale to accentuate the sense of intrigue and awe that I get from the natural world. My work draws parallels between the different ways that throughout history people have attempted to preserve flowers by means of illustration, photography, flower pressing, specimen collection and botanical models. 

Jess Dare