What intrigued me so much about the Spanish artist Yael Olave's jewelry work is the conscious use of plastic waste in their pieces. As well as their illusive-ness towards the process of creation, in particular with the body of work titled Hábitat. On the artists website's page for this collection, under the list of materials used for the project Yael writes, "Guess what the pieces are made of and write to me". So that's exactly what I did. Now, we did have a bit of a language barrier. Yael lives in Barcelona, Spain and primarily speaks Spanish. However, this is 2021 and with some help from google translate we were able to communicate with each other via email. Within the span of about 7 hours, Yael writes back to me. She states to me that the main keys to their work lye within her artist statement... "My proposal is based on reusing and recycling: once the object loses the meaning for which it was made, I take it and appeal to the intuitive transformation of its artificial materials already discarded. I keep the traces of the object's previous use, its form , to what it reminds us, and, at the same time, I highlight the added value of the work done by hand. It is the dialogue and the delicate and respectful treatment of the materials that asserts the artisan's trade, and this work is translated into a unique piece, object, or a tangible design with a DNA of color and diversity. " Yael contusiones to then inspire me to take note of my observations within our world, especially towards the waste that is created from single-use plastics and the surprising natures of their designs. What can be reused from those products to then create a new and very valuable treasure? Along with this she reminds me to also be extremely aware of what the effects on the environment might be when I am in the processes of experimentation with these items. That there is no "Planet Earth B". Now, out of respect for the artist and curiosity of the viewers, I am not going to share the exact materials used for these pieces but instead give you what my guess was... The material used for top layer/center focus of each of these pieces is hazy, opaque and slightly pearled. I believe it is some form of single use plastic, maybe those little round plastic containers you would get a toy in out of a quarter machine? That has then been carefully and consciously cut and adhered together. Each piece also has it's own variation of pastel hues. Blues, pinks, purples, hints of yellow and orange. How that exactly happened I am still pondering myself... The top layers of these pieces are bulbous and puffed, they emerge from the body. The plastic top layer then seems to have been prepped with drilled holes and then riveted into place to fit a uniquely made bottom layer. Most of which seem to be metal smithed, altered wire that highlights the rounded nature of the top layer. They are then made into valuable and very stylish accessories. For instance the photo above, a ring band was made and stamped with the artists name and then soldered together to what I imagine is a bottom layer of wire or sheet metal that was riveted to the top layer of plastic. Each piece is quite honest with the way it's made, there seems to be no hidden mechanisms as a majority of the pieces are hallow. These pieces bring me back to my childhood, and more specifically the early 2000's fashion trends of large, colorful, and rounded pearl like jewelry. The feminine nature of those times is emulated through these pieces for me. However, in a way that has adapted and evolved for the times we live in today. Promoting a conscious nature to be had towards the many things we tend to toss in the trash & giving those treasures a new life. These are only a handful of the beautifully recycled jewelry that Yael creates. Please continue to inspire yourself through their creations by checking out the artists website Yomisma-Design & following her on instagram @yomismadesign.
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