Disa Allsopp is known for her quiet restrained graphic jewellery, but her newest collection is of a quite different order. It is powerful, bold and graphic. Something has happened; Africa has entered her soul and taken over her hands. Take her necklace (shown opposite), a strong oval of oxidised silver textured like the bark of a Thorn Tree. A protruding branch curves to the neck and on it sits a deep golden citrine. For anyone who has been in the East African bush it summons up the image of a large gold moon suspended over a Baobab Tree under the vastness of an African sky. It even recreates the physical sensation of eyes stretched wide by the huge horizon- an extraordinary achievement for a necklace. Another neck piece, a triangle of textured oxidised silver with three protruding red and gold citrines is reminiscent of termite mounds thrusting up through the burnt landscape.
This new body of work is the direct result of Allsopp’s recent visits to East Africa which havetaken her across many differing landscapes. It is her homage to the redness and oldness of the land, its majesty, vastness and power. Her usual palette of stones is soft, pale pinks and blues;here it is deep, rich, glowing, burning reds and yellows. The stones protrude at angles from fat, textured settings a little like hippo’s feet. It is her response to experiencing so many huge animals up close and getting to see the texture of their leathery wrinkled skins.
Allsopp has used thin gold and silver wire for sometime, but in this collection the wire is chunky,with a clear reference to (some) traditional African jewellery. Some neckpieces are made by melting small bits of silver or gold rod together, manipulating them and then hammering them with specially made tools into thick twigs of metal. The bark-like texture is a foil to the perfectly cut faceted stones. The gems are an unusual selection including trapeze cut amethysts, which are set at strange almost aggressive angles.
Despite the rawness of some pieces, Allsopp’s jewellery is extremely wearable; she pays great consideration to comfort and whilst happy for people to display her pieces as sculpture, above all wants them to be worn. She intends her pieces to bestow confidence on the wearer and to give them joy. Her new work does just that.
Corinne Julius – journalist and design and applied arts critic.
