REsolve: Exhibition by Fife Contemporary
REsolve, an exhibition curated by artist-curator Mella Shaw, showcased work by contemporary artists, designers and practitioners addressing circular themes at the Kirkaldy Galleries from 26th February to 8th May 2022. Our programme manager for Ethical Making, Karen Westland, visited the exhibition and shares their perspective below in relation to circular practices for the jewellery and silver industry.
REsolve Gallery view
This understated exhibition immediately felt different from a typical exhibition in terms of the displays. Printed plywood boards presented the narrative and a minimalist approach was taken to unite the rooms and themes together. Consideration was clearly taken in thinking about how the exhibition itself was assembled and disassembled to reflect the philosophies explored within the showcase. The exhibition aimed to outline how the practitioners represented are moving away from our current Linear Economy (‘take-make-dispose’ model) toward a Circular Economy: a sustainable future which respects the world’s finite resources and spreads economic wealth fairly. The four broad themes included will be used to structure the narrative below.
Lampshades by Chalk Plaster (left to right) One: reprocessed plasterboard and brick dust, Two: gypsum from a plasterboard reprocessing plant, Three: gypsum from Lathalmond Commerce Park
Waste to Function
This theme investigated waste as something that was considered in the design of products to avoid obsolescence, by-products of a process being thrown away and for the product to be valued and repurposed at the end of its (hopefully) long lifespan. Artists Ffion and Steven Blench from Chalk Plaster displayed a series of three lampshades made from plaster reclaimed from plasterboard, a common material in the construction industry which currently has difficulty in being reprocessed on an industrial scale in the UK. The plaster lampshades made from natural rock gypsum, likely mined from a UK site, demonstrated the diversity in colour and texture which can be created and used to make contemporary products. Sara Howard created a Circular Ceramics Collection, made entirely from industrial waste by-products from the glass, stone, quarry and ceramic industries. Here there was a direct link in collaborating with manufacturers to reclaim their waste materials. Aymeric Renoud from Draff Studio showcased contemporary furniture, made in collaboration with Lee Johnstone, which demonstrated how draff – the spent grain waste product from alcohol production – can be mixed with an eco-friendly binder and moulded into a durable, everyday material. Janet Hughes’ work featured handloom-woven fabric which incorporated both white wool and Brockie wool: the grey and brown wool sheared by Scottish farmers which has little financial value and is therefore often discarded. Lastly, Carol Sinclair has developed a material in collaboration with Dr Sam Vettese from Napier University consisting of PLA (polylactic acid: a plant-based and biodegradable material) and porcelain powder studio waste. This material investigation was featured as a hanging mobile made from a variety of plastics including pre-existing plastics.
The learnings of the everyday objects created here also apply to the jewellery and luxury product context. We can reflect on our own practices to identify whether we can extend the lifespans of our products, to design out waste, employ materials such as offcuts from other industries into our practice or offer buy-back practices whereby clients can return products, to start closing the loop.
Zero Waste Rock by Stefanie Cheong, recycled silver and found rock.
Design for Disassembly
The works of Stefanie Cheong and Daniel Svahn demonstrate how products can be designed for disassembly and reassembly; a central theme to the Circular Economy. Stefanie created her jewellery pieces to have interchangeable and sustainably sourced rocks including marble, gneiss, basalt and agates through her modular ring design in recycled silver. Her sculptural Zero Waste Rock piece emphasised their process of using materials sparingly and respecting the preciousness of their selected natural materials, despite not having great monetary value. Not only is Daniel’s furniture made from salvaged materials destined for landfill, the design of A New Paradigm (table) applies the principles of easy disassembly to make the item easier to transport and offer functionality for the future, minimising the impact on the environment.
This is a theme that can be applied to how jewellery is designed in terms of offering different ways to wear items to extend their use and display options. Ensuring materials can be easily separated and reused within our practices to enable us to easily repair and recycle parts would further support the reduction of waste.
Nautilus Turbine by Hannah Imlach, tulip wood, birch plywood, acrylic tube and cork.
Powered by Renewable Energy
Shifting away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy sources such as wind, solar or hydro support a Circular Economy model, as this would significantly reduce the levels of carbon and greenhouse gases emitted into our atmosphere. The moving image work, Hydro – Solar – Wind by Sarah Calmus visualised the transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy in Scotland as the Scottish Government projects to reach Net Zero carbon emissions by 2045. Hannah Imlach’s Nautilus Turbine responds to the Isle of Eigg in Scotland, which has community owned renewable energy technologies. Round and Round by Paul Eames celebrated the incredible innovations we have developed historically whilst prompting the need for these skills to be applied once more to address issues of climate change resulting from past innovations such as powered human flight. This sculpture is inspired by the first flight in Scotland which used pram wheels, highlighting the resourcefulness of the Barnwell Brothers.
Minimising the impact of the jewellery and silver industry in terms of its energy use does not currently seem to be a priority by comparison to developing transparent supply chains and meeting industry compliance for social, environmental and economic regulations. Yet our global network likely has a significant carbon footprint as our materials and then products travel the world and the energy used within our studios to solder, braze or weld our metals. Many of these ‘steps’ appear to be unavoidable at present; but are there small ways to reduce this footprint through changing our energy suppliers, trying to purchase more and less often from suppliers and even designing products that require less energy to make where possible?
Shadow Board from Edinburgh Tool Library, peg board with painted outlines
Share & Repair
This section questioned alternatives to owning things as standard in a linear model and the accessibility to skills or equipment which could support circular activities. Deirdre Nelson is a volunteer textile mender who showcased Manifesto Repair-T, a T-shirt which has been repaired and embroidered with the Repair Manifesto (Add hyperlink to: https://www.platform21.nl/download/4453 ) (by Platform 21, Amsterdam) which advocates for us to ‘Stop Recycling. Start Repairing.’. Edinburgh Tool Library showcased a Shadow Board, peg board with painted outlines of various tools and objects that can be hired out by their members and Helen Grundy’s work features examples from their ‘FEARMAIL’ series. Helen inserts small collages into the windows of envelopes from official organisations. Their work was ironic and playful in the way it addresses issues of health, finance and liberty to promote discussion around our societal and individual responsibility to nurture our shared environment.
Remodelling and repairing heirloom jewellery is common practice in the UK, though perhaps there are opportunities to develop jewellery collections for hire for the general public and business, rather than in the usual catwalk context we currently see this happening. Loaning out bridal, statement jewellery and silverware for special occasions would nurture this circular approach to sharing products we don’t need to own indefinitely.
Overall, this exhibition explored how we can make change in the context of the ordinary: through the material objects we use and wear on a daily basis. Outside the exhibition space featured insightful video recorded conversations with those involved in the exhibition to dig deeper into their processes and a community engagement space to respond to the Circular Economy themes. Most of the written public responses were very positive with some comments about the underwhelming impact of the exhibit. Upon further reflection, the very nature of circular economy design tends to be understated: where the process avoids hazardous chemicals, synthetic dyes unless re-using materials already in existence which achieve bold colours. There inherently is a difference in material selection and processing within a circular design model than in a linear (where artificial materials take the fore), yet the true value is in the preciousness of each object created and the lack of excessive waste, energy use and planned obsolescence. The items showcased in REsolve either advocate toward circular themes or are practical items to be used and loved in an everyday context and in my opinion, this is what makes this work both interesting and necessary.
This exhibition was supported by Fife Contemporary, Creative Scotland, Fife Council and ON at Kirkaldy Galleries. For more information about the project and circular economy resources please visit REsolve online insights: