Over Twenty Years of Making Upcycled Chandeliers

Abstract

My input to this conference can be to describe my up-cycling work.

I have been making chandeliers from collected 2nd hand objects for over 20 years. It started after finding 40 facetted glass drops in a pile of rubbish. I first made myself a chandelier that appeared opulent but was actually made out of humble objects of low value; a poor man’s chandelier.

I’d been a teenager during the punk era and we all had very little money so being thrifty was natural. We customized clothes from charity shops; it was all very DIY, like the music. This inspiring era never left me. It taught me to question institutionalised ideas and that things could be done differently.

After making one chandelier I made more and never stopped because I’d found an endless thread.

When I started to gather other things to make a structure with, I discovered that all the stuff was right there just waiting for me to assemble it. Old kitchen utensils are lovely familiar objects but to me not very useful in their traditional role I joined them using simple methods like drilling holes and creating links.

I sourced materials at car boot sales, flea markets, scrap yards and charity shops.

I concentrated on developing a sophisticated aesthetic. A lot of up-cycling can be jokey and wacky but that doesn’t create an object you can live with long term. I steer clear of fashion, as fashion itself is wasteful. I aimed to make something that wouldn’t date and that would sit well with old and new things in an interior so I work with quite classical shapes and proportions.

I’ve shown my work widely, sold all over the world, have 5 pieces in the British Council collection, had 3 exhibitions in Tokyo and been featured in many publications.

Things have changed a lot since the early days. The objects I use are now collectable kitchenalia, second hand is now ‘vintage’ and desirable so not cheap. Charity shops can be expensive and many scrap yards have disappeared.

The real test is to use things that are discarded in abundance and make something beautiful and lasting out of them.

I gradually introduce different items into my work both because some of the things I work with are now harder to find and pricier but also to move forward. I recently incorporated bits of old clay pipe from the Thames beaches, pearl and plastic buttons and old ceramic electrical accessories.

My work also grew out of a lifestyle of scavenging stuff from skips and living in a self -help housing co-op. I was recently evicted after 30 years. Inhabiting a hitherto unwanted old building was essential to nurturing my practice. The aesthetic of an unspoiled ornate Victorian mansion block appears to have influenced my style; there is some faded grandeur.

Artists need cheap undefined space or nothing good can grow. I think it’s essential that we use empty buildings. This is another huge waste issue.