Jenny Takahashi Palmer

髪飾り

髪飾り, 2025 (installation)

Grace presents 髪飾り, an exhibition by Jenny Takahashi Palmer.

髪飾り (hair ornaments) brings together a new body of work by Jenny Takahashi Palmer that draws on the traditional Japanese forms of kanzashi (簪) and kushi (櫛). Created during her time at the Kagan Hotel in Kyoto, the works take shape through close observation of the natural world and experiments with new material processes. 

Jenny Takahashi Palmer (b. 1996) is a craft maker from Waiheke Island, Aotearoa. Her work combines tangible, sentimental and abstract adornments, usually taking form in jewellery objects, specifically Japanese hair ornaments (簪/櫛). The scale, detail and intimacy of her combs is a reflection of her devotion and innate need to honour and pursue her geographically distant identities.

Palmer’s previous exhibitions include Bling Ring (2021) at Enjoy Contemporary Art Space, subtle RESPECT (2020) at Window Gallery, and Looping (2020) at Wet Green Booth, May Fair Art Fair. She recently completed the Kagan Hotel Residency in Kyoto, where she continued to expand her material investigations and deepen her connection to traditional Japanese forms.

髪飾り, 2025 (installation)

マーガーの菖蒲 (Margi's iris), ロージーの簪 (Rosie's hairpin) & 百合さん (Lilies), 2025

マーガーの菖蒲 (Margi's iris), 2025 Sakura cherry wood, urushi, silver chainmail, tortoiseshell, aluminium powder.  132 x 70 x 20

百合さん (Lilies), 2025 Kauri, urushi, ivory, silver, aluminium powder.  108 x 55 x 10

ロージーの簪 (Rosie's hairpin), 2024 Sakura cherry wood, craft lacquer, jade beads, silver. 115 x 68 x 20

髪飾り, 2025 (installation)

カラスと柿 (crows and persimmons), 2024  Sakura cherry wood, ebony, kauri, tung oil 114 x 73 x 10mm

Orange hairpin, 2025 Sakura cherry wood, craft lacquer, aluminium powder, silver.  105 x 75 x 11

鯉と亀ちゃん (carps and turtles), 2025 (detail) Sakura cherry wood, boxwood, urushi, aluminium powder.  138 x 85 x 15

Studded hairpin, 2025  Kauri, urushi, silver. 108 x 50 x 10

Nââwie's comb, 2025 Sakura cherry wood, craft lacquer, silver, horn, urushi.  93 x 80 x 12

オタマジャクシ達 (tadpoles), 2025 Sakura cherry wood, horn, urushi, aluminium powder. 90 x 80 x 9

Insert Commissioned Poem

Studded hairpin, 2025 & 鎖帷子の菖蒲 (chainmail iris), 2024 (installation)

鎖帷子の菖蒲 (chainmail iris), 2024 Kauri, silver chainmail, tung oil.  105 x 73 x 17

Please contact the gallery here to receive a catalogue for 髪飾り.