Pearlish Dangles 1

Anodized waste aluminum, natural pearl, sterling silver, silk

2 × 1 × 1 inches each

In response to the imperial legacies of historical cabinets of curiosities—collections that often reflected wealth, conquest, and exoticism—this work reimagines objects of wonder through the most humble and local of materials: household waste. Discarded aluminum is transformed into forms that echo the mystery and allure once reserved for rare natural specimens.
The otherworldly “pearls” featured here are formed by pouring molten drops of waste aluminum into cold water, where the metal inflates and warps as pockets of steam interrupt its cooling. This process produces unique formations that hold the tension between control and unpredictability. Each “pearl” is a record of transformation, a small eruption of matter into form, and a reminder of how rarity can emerge from the overlooked and discarded.
By restaging the language of jewelry and adornment—studs, dangles, pearls—Webb draws attention to the ways materials carry cultural weight and symbolic power. Here, the allure of preciousness is deliberately unsettled: the shimmer of silver is counterfeit, the pearl is manufactured, and yet the wonder is no less real. These objects invite viewers to reconsider not only what is valued, but also how wonder itself might be found in the everyday, in processes of chance, and in the volatile meeting of molten metal, water, and human intention.

Artist Bio:
Claire Webb, based in Tucson, Arizona, recently served three years as Assistant Professor of Jewelry and Metalsmithing at the University of Oregon. She earned her MFA from SUNY New Paltz in 2021. Her work explores the expressive potential of unexpected material combinations and transformations to examine fundamental human needs and desires. Webb has exhibited with institutions including Galerie Lewis (Quebec), New York City Jewelry Week, the Baltimore Jewelry Center, Brooklyn Metal Works, Urban Glass, Melton Gallery, and the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.