Faceted Ring, 2009; Oblong Faceted Ring, 2009; Faceted Bangles, 2007 and Trinity Bangles, 2021, Melanie Eddy. Sterling silver. Photograph by Meredith Andrews.
Visit Meditations on Form: Jewellery by Melanie Eddy at the Bermuda National Gallery for free until 31 May 2025. The Gallery’s first-ever jewellery exhibition showcases the sculptural work of Bermuda-born, London-based designer Melanie Eddy, whose bold geometric designs are celebrated internationally.
Born and raised in Bermuda, Melanie Eddy has lived and worked in London for the past two decades. Despite the distance, a deep affinity for her island home runs through the bold geometric faceted forms that have become her signature, and for which she is gaining wide recognition.
The past few years have seen her work included in two exhibitions at Sotheby’s (New York and London) and a commission from the Victoria and Albert Museum (London), where one of her ring sets is now on permanent display. “Much of my work is rooted in a sense of place,” she says. “My work now is even more aware of my connections to Bermuda because of the time spent away. Often, I think my pieces are meditations on memories of Bermuda.”
Eddy cites the simplicity of the island’s vernacular architecture as an influence, alongside the angular shadows cast by the stark sunlight, and the taught triangular sails of the Bermuda rig. “Triangles are important to me symbolically,” she says of the shape which forms the backbone of every design, referencing the Bermuda triangle and, more importantly, the triangle of trade which put Bermuda at the heart of the British Atlantic.
Places and spaces are key inspirations for the designer, who lists Tadao Ando, Le Corbusier and Zaha Hadid as influences. “Much of my work is informed by our relationship to architecture, both how we inhabit architectural spaces and how they transform our environments,” says Eddy, who describes jewellery as “intimate architecture – the design of structures for the body.” She adds: “Much like architecture, most of its meaning is in the interaction.”
Meditations on Form: Jewellery by Melanie Eddy is on display in the Ondaatje Wing of the Bermuda National Gallery, 17 Church Street,Hamilton, Bermuda from 4 October 2024 to 31 May 2025. The exhibition is curated by Eve Godet Thomas, and free admission for 2025 is made possible by The Christian Humann Foundation.
The Goldsmiths’ Company is proud to support Meditations on Form through the loan of Melanie Eddy’s stacking rings in Platinum and Silver, commissioned by the Goldsmiths’ Company in celebration of the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.