The Scottish Gallery is celebrating Nel Linssen’s 80th year by showcasing her iconic works of paper jewellery.

Nel Linssen is a pioneer of modern jewellery and this exhibition holds both new work and a number of works that span her significant career. Nel initially trained as a pattern cutter and during a complex experiment she accidentally created a three dimensional object; this was the moment she decided to dedicate her career to paper jewellery. Her works are complex mathematical puzzles and each piece is created with different colours, pattern and texture, best revealed when worn as the slightest movement highlights the beauty of her work.

"My work arises intuitively and in an empirical way. I am continually trying to discover logical constructions, inspired by rhythms and structures in the botanical world.

In the development of my ideas the use of paper as a means of expressing myself was an obvious choice. As a material, it possesses a lot of qualities that come in useful to me. Moreover, the tactile qualities of paper are important in connection with wearable objects. For years I used the best quality of paper for my jewellery. Unfortunately this paper is not available any more, so now I use paper with a plastic coating.

The cause for a new type of research is often quite coincidental. Struck by a certain form of material, I start a quest in which an interaction arises of thought and action in order to attain a useful concept. Finding the appropriate technical solutions is an important challenge in connection with this." - Nel Linssen