Caged Art Debut

Auckland artist Sharon Finn is illuminating Sydney’s Simmer on the Bay with her first exhibition, ‘The Gilded Cage’, a collection of bejewelled chandeliers and bodiced mannequins, one adorned with antique watchfaces . For the past year, Finn has worked towards the show, shaping chicken wire into bodices and bird cages, “scratching myself to pieces in the process”. Finn, who is married to Crowded House frontman Neil Finn, has pursued art as a hobby and sometime career. Chandeliers became her trademark several years ago when she helped design a set for one of her husband’s tours. She sells her creations at her shop in Auckland, but had to be convinced by her friends to open a show. As the deadline approached, she recruited the same friends to help thread beads and shape wire. “It was all a bit like a sewing circle, except that we drank lots of pinot as we worked.” ‘The Gilded Cage’ runs through August 30.