Silver lining to new Brisbane exhibition A new design exhibition has paired Queensland photographers and jewellers to interpret memories and experiences of the River City. Silver, now showing at the Museum of Brisbane, uses the metal as the key linking element to the six pairings. Curator Jacqueline Armitstead said she paired up artists based on similarities in their focus, even though they worked in different disciplines. "Silver plays a significant role in the history of both jewellery-making, and photography and film through silver gelatin prints, so it seemed a compelling connection to pair the two art forms together," she said. Ms Armitstead said work on the new commissioned pieces began in February. "They had to get to know each other and their practices," she said. It was a little bit daunting I think initially, but when they actually started their conversations, they could see the commonalities and got excited about the potential. The pairs took inspiration from the city of Brisbane archive collection to create photographs, photograms, photo tapestries, jewellery pieces and object d'art. In one pairing, photographer Andrea Higgins placed lace collars and perfume bottles alongside pictures of an early 20th century Brisbane family in order to create silver photograms, while jeweller Madeleine Brown created delicate silver butterflies imprinted with the same lace designs. "It's quite a diverse show, but when you're commissioning new work that's often the case," Ms Armitstead said. It links very beautifully conceptually because they're all talking about the Brisbane story and they're using silver as that metaphor. MoB director Peter Denham said Silver was a high calibre project that brought moments of Brisbane's history to life. "To see internationally recognised artists like Marian Drew and Barbara Heath collaborate for the first time, and to focus on Brisbane as a subject, is really exciting," Mr Denham said. Silver will show audiences our commitment to supporting visual arts in Brisbane, showcasing what a creative city Brisbane is, as well as shedding new light on the historical significance of silver in art forms.