Anna Rae

My work explores the relationships between mental health and colour and light, and the impact they can have on one another. Having lost a light from my own life, I now find nothing more comforting than sunlight. The shadows it casts, the reflections it creates and the feelings of warmth and comfort it promotes. Yet with this loss of light, I lost something within myself, my ability to live in a moment, my sense of playfulness, my childhood.

My work focuses on regaining that lost light, bringing brightness, colour, and joy back into my life. The use of sunlight and colour invokes a change of perspective and mood, whilst also invoking a sense of childlike playfulness as you look in wonder at the colours dancing across the room as you move.

The result of this is a range of jewellery and spectacles that utilise dichroic materials, such as glass and film. Whether the pieces are entirely glass, or dichroic film embedded in resin, all pieces encourage movement in the wearer as they try to find their “hidden rainbows.” Regardless of how the wearer feels, they will now always have colour and light in their life, and I hope that’s enough to make someone smile.