Surf Coast jeweller Regina Middleton is a fossicker at heart, who finds herself propelled to meander, observe and collect along the shoreline. Faced with the overwhelming amount of rubbish choking our oceans, Regina seeks out these unwanted materials to create works that reflect on environmental decay. Reclaiming this detritus and pursuing her intuitive pull towards assortment and adornment, Regina repurposes her collected materials to create wearable and non-wearable objects. Imbued with an unexpected preciousness, her works examine our perception of ‘treasure’ and make an appeal to undo the on-going destruction of our planet. Tidal Detritus is an ongoing project making use of plastic artefacts collected along the high tide line. Each individual piece of plastic marine debris has been collected from one of the following beaches: Southside, Bells Beach; 13th Beach, Barwon Heads; Addiscott Beach, Point Addis Marine National Park; Painkalic creek, Aireys Inlet; Johanna Beach, Johanna and Worm Bay; Bay of Martyrs. Regina completed a Bachelor of Arts in Jewellery Design at Curtin University in Perth and furthered her studies at Monash University in Melbourne, completing an Honours Degree in Fine Art. Regina’s jewellery has been exhibited in Galleries in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth. Tidal Detritus runs 22 February – 18 March. To see a full exhibition listing click here.
