I’m Dr Katherine Bracco, a tired climate scientist, metalsmith, and scientific educator. I am a bit of a

bowerbird in nature, collecting items of interest along my travels whether that be fallen leaves, rocks, or

rubbish. My work predominantly focuses on the environments that surround us. These are all subject to

human impacts. I seek to explore, document and record features of the natural environment including

flora, fauna, geology and found objects. For me as a scientist, I seek not only to document these features

out of my own interest (and because I have short term memory), but to capture them permanently in

metallic forms as they might not be present for future generations to come. Over time, these

ecosystems may just become distant memories; ones which are only stored in the depths of museum

archives.

My work incorporates recycled and reclaimed metals (such as discarded copper cabling and sheets of

metal), found objects (both natural such as rocks and minerals and artificial such as ocean bound

plastics and broken glass) which are made into pieces which can be changed and transformed into

varied forms of jewellery. The goal of my work is to inspire audiences to learn about and appreciate the

ecosystems that surround them. Additionally, to recognise the impacts they we have on these

environments and how we can close the loop in terms of discarded materials by removing plastics and

scrap materials and adding value to these previously overlooked objects.

Future Statment

The flow of The Four Spheres has been influenced, interrupted, and intercepted. This work investigates the flow and connections between the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. It explores the properties of each and connections to flora, fauna, mineralogy, and human existence. Each sphere is susceptible to human impacts which have flow-on effects to species that exist within these realms. Images of natural species are nestled amongst the sphere’s environments alongside found objects which depict human impacts, influences, and interference. The viewer is invited to reflect on the impacts to each sphere and what this may mean for future generations. This may include impacts to species, resources, environments, and society. It encourages the audience to consider the ways to reduce impacts and restore the ecological flow both within and between each system. Four pieces form part of this body of work including the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. Within each piece is a natural species a mineral or economic resource and indication of impacts. In the atmosphere, a silhouette of a sulfur crested cockatoo sits nestled between an unsettled atmospheric environment with coal cubes crammed in the lower part of the circle. This symbolises the impacts of greenhouse gases and pollution on the atmospheric and climatic systems. The biosphere features scratched and scarred silhouette of a koala sits next to a hand tumbled prong set chrysoprase. The environment behind is barren and damaged. This represents the impacts to the biosphere including logging, mining, and bushfires. For the hydrosphere an injured dugong swims between coral reefs and ocean bound plastics. This highlights challenges to the hydrosphere including pollution from farming and industrial activities, littering of plastics into oceanic environments and wide-scale coral bleaching events. Finally, in the lithosphere a tumbled garnet sits perched between damaged geological layering. Mushrooms sit to the site and appear changed. This shows the impacts that large-scale mining and land changes have on the lithosphere, including to landforms, geological units and the unique ecological systems that lie within them. I am a tired climate scientist. My purpose is to record Australian ecosystems in metals as they might not exist for future generations. They may be just distant memories; ones catalogued, labelled, and stored in the drawers of museum collections. Relics of the past reflecting societal progress. This work has been created using recycled materials and found objects (both natural and human made), representative of the environments in which they were found. By using recycled materials this work invites the audience to consider their own use of materials in everyday life and the changes they can make to their lifestyles to preserve and protect environments for future generations.