What's in my stuff? - jewellery and objects

This research enquiry uses jewellery as a vehicle to discuss and explore issues of material value, product consumption and global concerns related to the scarcity and ethical sourcing of strategic metals. In today’s developed societies we all own an unprecedented amount of “stuff” and nothing represents this better than our consumption of mobile phones. The increasing demand for smart-phones in developed societies and the huge market for mobile phones in the developing countries have led us to ask the following questions: • Do you know what's in the stuff you use every day? • Do you know where the chemical elements in your things come from, how they're extracted and how much is left on our planet? • How often do you discard something rare and precious without even realising it? What's in my Stuff? Is a Sheffield Hallam University, Engineering for Life research project, sponsored by the EPSRC and industry sponsor, Harsco Metals. It is a collaborative project between Dr Hywel Jones and Dr Karen Vernon-Parry from the Material and Engineering Research institute (MERI) and Maria Hanson, Reader in Metalwork and Jewellery in the Art and Design Research Centre (ARDC) What's in my stuff? led by Hanson, used multi-sensory, creative and participatory activities and systems of exchange that explored ways of raising awareness and communicating knowledge about materials used in high technology products. Public events and exhibitions provided forums to conduct audience surveys and explored why we are accumulating mobile phones in the UK at a rate of 4 million per year. Jewellery’s rich history in terms of material value, social significance and perceptions of preciousness, provided an appropriate device to engage a broad audience in a commentary about materials use. The main objectives of this creative investigation were data visualisation through jewels (element rings and 3650km) and graphics (key-facts), and the exploitation of aesthetic qualities (Reuse-Revalue and exchange brooches). Reclaiming, reworking and reusing component parts of mobile phones highlighted the value of discarded materials and gave them a second life. SEM material analysis, statistical data on materials consumption and responses from audience surveys conducted during jewellery exhibitions and a field laboratory (where the general public deconstructed mobile devices) informed the creative direction.