ABOUT
Simon Swale (b.1975) is an award winning artist, designer and educator based in Koputai Port Chalmers, Aotearoa New Zealand. He is currently Senior Lecturer at the School of Design, Otago Polytechnic / Te Pukenga, in Ōtepoti Dunedin.
Simon Swale completed a Master of Fine Arts (Distinction) at the Dunedin School of Art in 2020, studying jewellery under the supervision of Johanna Zellmer and Professor Leoni Schmidt. This project consolidated long standing interests in concepts of space and place, and focused specifically on the flows of the global cultural economy. Work from this series won the Jewellery category at the New Zealand Student Craft Design Awards 2020, as well as the Marzee prize at the International Graduate Show, Galerie Marzee, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
From 2020-2022 Simon was a participant of the Handshake6 mentorship program, mentored by the Berlin based artist Gabi Schillig. During this time, Simon continued to develop philosophically and politically engaged work with a strong conceptual and research focus. Simon has since developed work in a range of materials and mediums, including video, performance, and photography. Simon has exhibited widely, nationally and internationally, and has also published many articles on fashion and jewellery. Simon’s jewellery work has featured in Autor magazine, SMCK magazine, and in 2022 Art Jewelry Forum published his article ‘Critical Walking as Post-Studio Methodology.’
AWARDS and NOTABLE MENTIONS
Marzee Prize. International Graduate Show 2020, Galarie Marzee, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Jewellery category winner. ECC NZ Student Craft Design Awards 2020.
‘The 25 best On Body Artworks published in 2020.’ Klimt02 featured selection.
People’s Choice. As part of ‘Clink6’ group show presented at Radiant Pavilion Jewellery Biennale 2019. Grainger Museum, Melbourne.
EXHIBITIONS
2022
Handshake7; Object and Signiture-Jewellery from New Zealand. Galerie Marzee, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Whānui. A selection of Handshake alumni. The National. Ōtautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand.
Morph. A Handshake6 group show. NorthArt. Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand.
SMCK ON REEL; the jewellery video festival
SMCK ON REEL toured across Europe in 2022, including at Galerie Weltraum and Bayerischer Kunstgewerbeverein, Munich, as part of Schmuck Jewelery Week; Grassi Museum, Leipzig; Romanian National Library, Bucharest, as part of Romanian Jewelry Week, Museum of Applied Arts & Design, Vilinus; the National Museum of History of Ukraine, Kyiv.
GLIMMER. A Handshake6 group show. Wirinaki Whare Taonga. Upper Hutt, Aotearoa New Zealand
2021
CHAINReaction. A Handshake Project group show. Refinery ArtSpace, Nelson, New Zealand
2020
Signing In. A Handshake6 group show. Te Auaha. Wellington, New Zealand.
ECC New Zealand Student Craft Design Awards Finalist Exhibition. The Dowse Museum. Lower Hutt, New Zealand.
Marzee International Graduate Show. Galerie Marzee. Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Contemporary Fashion Practices (online)
https://www.contemporaryfashionpractices.com/
The Complete Entanglement of Everything. Group show in association with the symposium ‘Mapping the Anthropocene in Otepoti/Dunedin; Climate change, community & research in the creative arts.’ Dunedin School of Art Gallery, Otago Polytechnic, Ōtepoti Dunedin.
Handshake in Hamilton. Laree Payne Gallery, Hamilton, New Zealand
The Way We Lived. Master of Fine Arts Graduate Exhibition. Dunedin School of Art Gallery, Otago Polytechnic, Ōtepoti Dunedin.
2019
Clink6 group show as part of Radiant Pavilion Jewellery Biennale 2019. Grainger Museum, Melbourne.
Moments from the Body Political group show as part of ‘No Filter’ Vic Books, Kelburn, Wellington.
2018
Reverence. A public performance as part of Dunedin Fringe Festival. The Short Black Box, Dunedin.
Unbound: The Exhibition. Group show in association with the Costume and Textile Association of New Zealand annual symposium. Dunedin School of Art Gallery, Otago Polytechnic.