Mirror Goblets, 2025

Joanne Tinker  

Joanne Tinker is an artist who transforms ordinary, often discarded materials into something precious and distinctive. Metal bottle tops, acupuncture tubes, confectionery wrappers and aluminium cans have all featured in their work, although chocolate foil wrappings remain a constant and recognisable element throughout their practice.

Their work has been exhibited internationally and has appeared in London's Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Pieces are held in the collections of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York and the White Rabbit Gallery in Sydney, while some of their early work is on permanent display at London's Science Museum.

Over the course of their career, Tinker has created commissions for private art collectors, Hampton Court Flower Show gardens, cruise liners and the television production of Dennis Potter's . Their work has been featured in numerous newspapers and magazines and is represented internationally by the Woolf Gallery in London.

Born in Nottingham in 1969, Tinker spent their childhood in Johannesburg, South Africa, before moving to Leeds. True to their family name, they developed an early affinity for working with metal and went on to study Silversmithing and Jewellery, graduating with a First Class degree from Birmingham in 1992.

Following graduation, Tinker established their own business and worked from a small studio in Harrogate before relocating to West London. Over time, they built a strong reputation for creating innovative artworks from recycled materials, exhibiting and selling through galleries and art fairs across the UK and internationally.

Now based in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, Tinker continues to create intricate and imaginative works that challenge perceptions of waste, value and beauty, turning everyday materials into extraordinary pieces of art.