There’s an exhibition today by Salvage Sri Lanka – at the Saskia Fernando Gallery. They create jewelry and art from discarded or recycled material, which I like. Chicks dig jewelry and they dig ethics, so win win.
On a more important note, profits from Salvage go to supporting the Heavena Battered Women’s Shelter among other projects. This is especially important today, on International Woman’s Day. I think that the pieces in Salvage are also made by these women.
A preview of the art side of the exhibition
I personally find Salvage interesting because it’s an artistic reflection of natural Sri Lankan culture. I see unconscious recycling and repurposing everyday. When you get food it’s wrapped in old bills of lading and newspapers. Men on the street sell toys made from tin cans and foam. During the war, cabbies in Jaffna would constantly re-engineer ancient cars to run on whatever was available (See Kannan’s short film Kerosene). In many way poverty unconsciously engenders progressive values.
Repurposing as directed art or production, however, is different, and can be interesting. It’s taking folk forms and gallerizing them. So, I’m going to try to check out the Salvage show today at six (on Dharmapala Mawatha near DineMor). I’m interested to see how they’ve made they’ve taken that resourceful ethos forward, in a conscious, directed way. I’m also assuming it’s affordable jewelry. Certainly looks like nice art.
The Salvage show is today (Thursday the 8th) at the Saskia Fernando Gallery. I think it’s ongoing. There’s art and jewelry to see and/or buy. All profits go to worthy charities, and the production process itself is ethical fashion. Also, like Salvage on Facebook, they do handmade Valentines roses and cool stuff ongoing.
Very cool! My favorite local re-purposing is when government office workers re-use the glass bottles from hard liquor to keep their water on their desks. They don’t even TRY to remove the labels or disguise them! Must be some kind of status symbol, I think.
yeah, it is. Someone will have a bottle of Absolut or Bacardi or something. I actually find myself vaguely impressed sometimes, but it’s not like anyone drinks out of an old Courvoisier bottle
Yup… I have a bottle of Absolut Mandarin on my desk…. not only is it easy to clean and hold a sizeable refill, it provides my co-workers much needed amusement as the subject of lame jokes.