Your trash is this artist’s couture eco-jewellery
7 April 2021
Text:
Paula Erizanu
Instagram account @kuleeema is one Russian artist’s rethink of the meaning of jewellery by making necklaces and bracelets out of rubbish.
Mariya Aligozhina, a painter, animator, illustrator, curator, design teacher, and art student, says: “I love each of these jobs but above all, I like to go for walks and keep a look out for what’s underneath my feet.”
Aligozhina sees her upcycled jewellery making as a “micro-ecological project”. Using wires, ceramics, wood, plastic, and hardware, she makes gender-neutral pendants and bracelets.
“I want the idea of conscious jewellery consumption to be on par with other reusing and upcycling practices,” the artist told The Calvert Journal. This involves “not throwing away broken jewellery, but disassembling and assembling pieces into new ones, supplementing them with your finds and treasures from trips. It seems to me that any broken or lost jewellery can be remade. Wearing unpaired earrings is cooler than running out to the mall for new ones.”
