Bridget Catchpole lives and works in Vancouver, Canada. She received her jewellery training at the Vancouver Jewellery Art and Design Program and has a BFA in Studio Art at Concordia University, Montreal. Catchpole has been the recipient of project/research grants from the Canada Council for the Arts as well as the British Columbia Arts Council and exhibits Nationally and Internationally. From empty beauty product packaging to plastic remnants collected along the Pacific Northwest Coast, Catchpole incorporates castoff materials affording them equal value to traditional gemstones. For more than 10 years, her focus looks at patterns of plastic waste from throwaway culture and how it has become a pervasive presence in the natural environment. These self-harvested materials become a departure point for broader topics of repair not replace, as well as a partiality involving worth and waste, blurring notions of what is precious, valuable and lasting.
Artist Statement
I seek the inimitable. Weathered. Cast aside. High on the tide line are the gems I collect. Simultaneously thrilled and saddened by what I find. Liberated from the churning ocean and sun’s harsh rays, remnants of manufactured debris become my objet trouvé. My impetus for creation.
Strange Evolution (Brooch/TieTac)
Sterling silver, vintage Italian glass beads, steel, found plastic, resin, sand
2" x 1" x .75"
Bridget Catchpole
Image Credit: Tanya King Photography
Where's your other half (Neckpiece)
Sterling silver, vintage Italian glass beads, found styrofoam buoy, nylon, steel, cord
5" x 2.5" on extendible cord 20" - 50"
Bridget Catchpole
Image Credit: Tanya King Photography
Crushed (brooch/pendant)
Sterling silver, Steel, glass beads, found plastic bottle fragment, resin, sand
2.5" x 1.5" x 2.5"
Bridget Catchpole
Image Credit: Tanya King Photography
