The Circular Economy of Recycling Material Culture in Pearl River Delta Jewelry Design 珠三角珠寶設計中循環物質文化的循環經濟

Dr. Anna Grasskamp (Project leader), Dr. Ching Sze-yin Cicy (Co-investigator)

Project abstract:

For centuries, jewelry makers and goldsmiths have worked sustainably and created circular economies by melting and reshaping precious metal objects and by dismounting and reframing valuable gemstones. This longstanding practice of recycling has also informed recent practices by which jewelry designers have creatively reused waste materials alongside pearls and silver to turn “trash into treasure.” This proposed project will research upcycling practices in contemporary art and design in Hong Kong, a city that connects local with global practices while remaining rooted in Asia, one of the world’s top waste-producing and waste-receiving areas. Understanding craftsmanship as a way of thinking, we will map and investigate the pioneering roles of jewelry designers’ sustainable practices. We will seek to further develop their practices as a means to find creative solutions for Hong Kong’s 21st- century waste pollution problems and make these solutions accessible to members of the public, designers, and students.

Although prior studies have focused on creative strategies of reuse in contemporary art and design, they have remained Western-centric. No study has examined Chinese and, in particular, Hong Kong practices. We will fill this lacuna by adding a focused Asian case study to the field of global art and design studies that complements extant theorizations of creative reuse. This project will be particularly innovative in its combination of artistic research with ecology. It will contribute to the larger paradigm shift affecting the humanities in the Anthropocene and pave the way for future innovations in jewelry design and recycling.

研究項目摘要：

幾個世紀以來，珠寶製造商和金匠一直在持續努力，創造出通過熔化和重塑貴重金屬，和拆卸及重新鑲嵌有價值寶石的循環經濟。這種長期回收的實踐也啟發了近代設計師對「把廢物變成寶物」的最新實踐。 今次的建議項目，將在香港這一個把本土跟國際連接的城市，研究「升級再造」在當代藝術和設計的實踐。香港位於亞洲，一個世界上最大的產生廢物和接收的區域，將令這個研究別具意義。將工藝理解為一種思維方式，我們將會探索珠寶設計中對可持續實踐的先鋒作用。我們將進一步發展這思維，為香港的21世紀廢物污染，尋找創新的解決方案，並將方案連接公眾，設計師和學生們。

儘管先前的研究曾聚焦於當代藝術及設計中重複使用的創造性策略，但這些研究一般保持以西方為中心。到目前為止，尚無針對中國，特別是香港做法的研究。我們將通過一個把重點放在亞洲的研究，來填補這一個全球藝術和設計研究中的罅隙，並互補素材重用的理論化。這個項目的創新處，在於它把藝術研究與生態議題相結合。它將有助於未來珠寶設計和回收方面的創新。