Cosmetic
26/02/09 - 02/05/09
Craft ACT, Canberra Australia
www.craftact.org.au

Statement
My practice is aimed towards broadening and augmenting definitions of jewellery, to challenge and extend the medium in the public arena and entice examination of intimate space. As a jeweller working in close contact with the body, I am fascinated with the changing narrative of skin surfaces and the embellishments the body absorbs over time.

Cosmetic
Cosmetic explores the way cosmetic surgery nullifies distinguishing marks, creating new social and cultural monikers for an individual; a false constructed memory that belies the natural journey skin experiences through time and environment. The work developed as part of this series is ephemeral, challenging the permanence of a surgical presence on the skin.

Marked
The marked series is an investigation into the residue left behind by jewellery, the physical presence and sensations which resonate on the skin after a piece has been removed. This project uses skin as a self-referential mechanism and demonstrates how surfaces can be gently manipulated to respond to ephemeral embellishments.  The premise behind the marked series is the ability of skin to transmute into temporary articles of jewellery, in addition to the more common role as a site for adornment. 

Tiffany Parbs born in Nuriootpa, South Australia
           
Education:
1994-97 Advanced Diploma in Applied and Visual Arts North Adelaide School of Arts, Adelaide
1989-91 Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies University of SA, Adelaide

Collections:
Modern Jewellery Collection, National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh UK

Selected Grants and awards:
2007 Skills and Arts Development, Australia Council Visual Arts Board, VACF Fund
2005 Craft-in-Site, small grant program, Craft Victoria
2004 Arts Development Program:  New Work Creation, Arts Victoria
2002 Craftsouth Emerging Artist Mentorship, Australia Council VACF Fund and Craftsouth | Landscapes and Backgrounds (collaboration with Greg Fullerton), NSW Ministry for the Arts
2001 Project Assistance (Emerging Artist), Arts SA | New Work (Emerging Artist), Australia Council Visual Arts Board,   VACF Fund

Solo exhibitions:
2008 cosmetic, Craft Victoria, Melbourne
2005 embellish, 23 Sherman Galleries, Sydney
2002 probe, Craft Victoria, Melbourne

Selected group exhibitions:
2008 Refashioning the Fashion, Object Australia Centre for Craft and Design, Sydney
2007 Fire, Fire, The Narrows, Melbourne | Goldmember, The Embassy Gallery, Edinburgh Scotland
2006 Cicely & Colin Rigg Contemporary Design Award, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne | Make the Common Precious, Centro Cultural Estacion Mapocho, Santiago Chile | City of Hobart Art Prize, Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery, Hobart
2005 Expiration, Project Space RMIT University, Melbourne | Make the Common Precious, Craft Victoria, Melbourne | Shades of Gray: Gray Street Workshop 1985-2005, JamFactory Contemporary Craft & Design, Adelaide
2004 Design Down Under; Jewelry from Australia & New Zealand, Australian Embassy, Washington DC USA
2003 Cities of Silver and Gold, Craft ACT Craft & Design Centre Canberra | Fuse, Ivy Hopes Melbourne
2002 8th Anniversary Holiday Invitational Exhibition, OXOXO Gallery, Baltimore Maryland USA | Going Underground, in conjunction with Greg Fullerton, site specific installation, Broken Hill New South Wales
2001 City of Perth Craft Award, Craft West Gallery, Perth
2000 three point landing, Atrium Gallery Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow Scotland

Professional experience:
2007 Artist in Residence, School of Jewellery, Birmingham Institute of Art & Design, University of Central England, UK
2004 Gerd Rothmann Workshop, JMGA Jewellery Conference, Melbourne
2003-04 Mentorship and Assistant to Susan Cohn, Workshop 3000, Melbourne
2001-02 Artist in Residence, Metal Design Studio JamFactory Contemporary Craft & Design, Adelaide
2000 Artist in Residence, Silversmithing and Jewellery Department Glasgow School of Art, Scotland, UK

Publications:
2006 New Directions in Jewellery (2006), Black Dog Publishing London | Sunday Arts, ABC Television, April 16 2006
2005 Craft Unbound: Make the Common Precious (2005), Thames & Hudson Australia | Alex McDonald, ‘skin deep’, State of the Arts Jul-Sept 05500 Bracelets (2005), Sterling Publishing New York
2004 1000 Rings: inspiring adornments for the hand (2004), Sterling Publishing New York