BOOK
2012 PAGE 22-25
by Narelle Yabuka
Bi-re-cycle Jewellery grants the discarded rubber inner tubes of bicycles a new purpose and value. Formerly hidden from view within bicycle tyres, the inner tubes are revealed and celebrated in this abstract unisex jewellery. The tough, malleable quality of the rubber is expressed in various ways; it is sliced, punctured, and stretched over skeletal silver frameworks to create abstract works of wearable art.
The necklaces, brooches, and earrings in the range were inspired by mobility, and play on a shape of eternal importance in jewellery - the circle. Reuse is an equally significant component of the work. Recycling and reuse, says designer Nikolay Sardamov, will play a significant role in the future intelligent society as well as in jewellery design.
Nikolay Sardamov (Sofia, Bulgaria) studied fine arts pedagogy before achieving a master’s degree in jewellery and metal. He has held solo exhibitions since 2001. The circle is a repeating theme in Nikolay’s jewellery, and silver is a favoured material -often in blackened form, which lends an industrial feel to the work. Portrait by Vencislava Vasileva and Asen Emilov.
Upcycle by Narelle Yabuka,
an/b editions
Cover: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-981-07-3683-5
Nikolay began working with bicycle inner tubes after discovering a bicycle repair shop’s used tyre stockpile. He considered the tubes as a raw material for jewellery production and began experimenting. In doing so, he discovered a material that offered limitless inspiration.
