Mumbai artist recycles old metals like copper and brass to make beautiful jewellery

Every piece I recycle into jewellery had a purpose and story before, so I preserve not just materials but also their stories, says Gauri Pathare

Some people cycle to work, others turn off their vehicles at long signals, and some plant trees to do their part in making life sustainable on this planet. A very different approach is witnessed at the art installation ‘The Rising of the Pheonix’ at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival-2023 in Mumbai.

Gauri Pathare, the artist, recycles old metals like copper and brass to make beautiful jewellery, as one can see on a mannequin here. The jewellery is crafted with perfection and there is no need for her to tell the visitor about the art — at first glance, they would know it is made from recycled materials.

“I don’t like to think of these materials as junk or waste. They’re discarded by people because they’re out of use, but they’re still perfectly solid and useful materials. They come from the earth and hence they’re as good as anything new. Normally, they are melted before recycling, but I use them to make jewellery with my hands, which helps prevent the energy and pollution that’s part of the melting recycle process,” she said on Saturday evening. 

Ms. Pathare calls it ‘Wandering Whites-The Rising of the Phoenix’ because it’s something that was considered dead but is now back to life in another form. “From ashes, she is born again. Every piece I recycle into jewellery had a purpose and story before, so I preserve not just materials but also their stories,” she beams while explaining. 

Ms. Pathare has been working on sustainable materials since 2013 and is always passionate about giving new life to rusted machine parts, old locks, copper wires, pipes, metal springs, gears, and electronic waste, and at the festival, she has decided to show the process to visitors. “Even the mannequin and the cloth rise from the dirt to embrace the beautiful future,” she said.  

“These machine parts have seen better days in the past and are currently languishing in junkyards. By transforming them into a Daagina (jewellery) of a fashionista, just like a phoenix, I’m trying to give them a new life,” the 43-year-old, who graduated in photography from Sir J. J. Institute of Applied Art, said.