Emefa Cole
Emefa Cole will present a new installation of bronze cast baobab trees, a symbol of resilience as it thrives where little else does and whose bark and fruit are used in indigenous remedies, traditions, and folklore.
Emefa Cole is a British-Ghanaian jewellery designer and the Curator of Diaspora Jewellery at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. Constituting a form of wearable art, Cole’s work explores her own cultural heritage, the beauty of natural and geologic phenomena, and the transformative power of time and nature.
Her practice is based on traditional Ghanaian metalsmithing combined with modern techniques. She is especially known for her ethical approach, including using only recycled metals and ethically sourced African gemstones.
Find Emefa Cole in the Old Library.
About Emefa Cole
Independent experimental jewellery artist and designer-maker Emefa Cole was born in Sunyani, West-Central Ghana in 1979 to a Ga mother and an Ewe and Ga-Dangbe father. Moving to London when she was 12-years-old, she graduated from London Metropolitan University’s Cass School of Art in 2011 with a BA (Hons) in Silversmithing and Jewellery. Upon graduation, she launched and built her company: envisioning and bringing to life wearable art which employs subtlety in honouring its inspirations and is considered a tasteful understatement in its craft.
Designing after Earth’s sweeping geological processes in concert with time and the artefacts of her recollections, Emefa uses 100% recycled metals and stones sourced directly from African gem cutters to forge distinctive body adornment that dares to be quiet in its boldness, sculptural yet flowing, tactile yet intangible, luxurious yet subversive, and gilt yet natural.