JUNK: rubbish to gold

JUNK: rubbish to gold is a playful exploration of community economies (exchange, giving, bartering, gathering, earning, harvesting); putting on display the process of creating the ‘work of art’. Co-created and co-curated by Jivan Astfalck, Laura Bradshaw-Heap and Rachel Darbourne and partnered with charities, who supplied JUNK jewellery. During a public performance 31 jewellers ‘gifted’ their skills, (re)constructing pieces selected from a mountain of JUNK creating reimagined artworks for the exhibition and auction. Maria Hanson was invited to participate in this performance and exhibition(s) and (re)created 7 pieces of jewellery during the event. The performance was live-streamed on screens in the mac Birmingham and the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter and across the world. Reusing is often perceived as the up-cycling of one object to another, from unwanted to desired, consumer leftovers turned into new desirable luxury consumables to buy. This reuse is the cornerstone of jewellery as a discipline, with materials shifting form to adapt to the newest fashion and trend. Yet the reimagining of one object into another is infinitely more complex than it is often portrayed. By putting on display the entire process of creating the ‘work-of-art’ within this project; from material purchase and collection, through selection and (re)construction during the performance, then exhibition and auction, ideas of exchange, bartering, gathering, earning and giving were playfully explored. This shifted the focus from finished object to the processes and social interactions that create the 'work-of-art'. JUNK: rubbish to gold aims to foster and develop multilayered networks, challenging and extending jewellery as a discipline, expanding the art jewellery audience and deepening our understanding of the impact of the arts. The JUNK: rubbish to gold Edition No. 1 performance and installation was held at the School of Jewellery, Birmingham during their 125th anniversary celebrations between the 9th-13th November 2015. JUNK: rubbish to gold Edition No. 2 was showcased during Munich Jewellery Week at Studio Gabi Green between the 25th-28th of February 2016.