Final Eassy "Octavia Cook"

Octavia Cook was born in 1978, Auckland. She currently lives and works in Auckland. Graduated in 1999 from Unitec Institute of technology with a Bachelor of Design in Jewelry. Since graduating she has had numerous exhibitions throughout the years and also started a fabricated company called “Cook & Co” in 2002. Her works include; brooches, rings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants and chains. Her works deals and relate to autobiographical and idiosyncratic forms, the idea of her jewels point to the indivisibility of craft and concept, how she is drawn to the social role of jewelry, especially its identity-projecting possibilities and her use of the cameo to explore the possibilities associated with commemorative portraiture.

One of the ideas behind Octavia Cook’s work is the autobiographical and idiosyncratic form that is within her work. The meaning behind this idea is that Cook’s work is rewriting her life and her individuality through the form of jewelry. Her cameo work deals with the individual portrayed maybe known and important to her. Her work examines ideas of identity, family and the importance of jewelry in the art world. Cook demonstrates her imaginative ideas in her jewelry. An example of these ideas is found in her work “The Cook & Co Dynasty” 2009. This work presents several cameos of family members recording her background, history and ancestry in an art form that gives herself and her works an identity.

Cook’s jewels point to the indivisibility of craft and concept. Another way of rewriting this idea in a simple meaning is that the state of Cook’s jewels can’t be separated and divisible. The meaning behind this is that the ideas and process she uses to create her jewels are inseparable. The series of instructions in making her jewels are the same, aren’t divisible and can’t be separated. Her works all point to this idea, for an example, her four part “Cook & Co Cameo” set are inseparable from each other because the tools and materials that were used to create this work are exactly the same and the ideas behind the work, that of family, portraits, identity are interlinked with the making and the maker.

Cook’s drawn to the social role of jewelry, especially its identity-projecting possibilities. She’s attracted and drawn to the society world of jewelry and to an extent the representation of identity that can be created and presented in numerous ways. Cook likes the role of jewelry today and the direction it’s heading, indicating her interest in identity and how important it is to her. Cook defines this in her jewelry work, her portrait cameos that are important and precious to her. She redefines her idea around identity in her jewelry chains as well; her work monogram tennis bracelet has “COOK & CO” in big gold letters connected by tiny jump rings. She uses her company name to symbolize the company jewelry, creator, ownership and identity.

Cooks uses the cameo to explore the possibilities associated with commemorative portraiture. She evaluates numerous ways to memorialize portraits of people through her cameo work. She explores and experiments with her cameos to form links and find relationships, connecting people through a memorial or symbol. For an example her brooch work “A family portrait; C M and P J W Cook” I assume is Cook’s mother and father profiled in silhouettes. Her cameos of her parents show her relationship and importance of this people. This work is heirloom and valuable jewelry for the next generation of her family.