Siri Hansen

My degree project explores and questions traditional notions of material value through a series of brooches made from discarded plastics. I work with waste as a starting point; instead of viewing it as a product to discard, I see it as a valuable material that can, and should, be reused.

Jewellery has historically been associated with preciousness, typically through being made from materials like gold, silver and gemstones. By combining discarded plastic with silver and gemstones, I place these materials in direct tension with each other. What happens when something overlooked, like single-use plastic, is worn on the body alongside what is traditionally considered precious? The pieces aim to shift perception, asking the viewer to reconsider what is valued, and why.

The pieces are shaped through processes of heat and pressure, using self-constructed tools alongside traditional jewellery and silversmithing techniques, what I refer to as plasticsmithing. Balancing between adornment and critique, the brooches function as intimate yet political objects, inviting the viewer and wearer to reflect on what we choose to preserve, what we discard, and how these choices shape our relationship to the material world.