TWO exhibitions aimed at challenging people's perception of jewellery have opened at a North-East museum.

All that Glisters and Native Adornment go on show at the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, in Middlesbrough's Stewart Park.

All that Glisters is the culmination of a joint project by Middlesbrough Museums and Galleries Service and the National Glass Centre, in Sunderland.

Last summer, Manchester jeweller Colette Hazelwood worked with groups of visually impaired people in Middlesbrough and Sunderland to create jewellery based around their own personalities. The results, including a bracelet that hooks over the thumb, fashioned in the shape of a guide dog's harness, will feature in the exhibition.

There will also be photographs of the wearers taken by students from Cleveland College of Art.

The Native Adornment show features jewellery worn by the indigenous people of the countries Captain Cook visited, including Australia and New Zealand.

Both exhibitions run until Sunday, March 14. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 9pm to 3.30pm.

Published: 22/01/2004