Traces

Brooch 

Shibuichi, fine gold, 24ct e-waste recycled gold, 18ct green gold, gold plated copper wire and steel pin.

Fingers

Pendant

Fine gold, 18ct green gold, shibuichi, sterling silver tube, yellow Japanese kumihimo eight strand braided cord. Image: Diarmid Weir.

Via

Pendant

Shibuichi, fine gold, 18ct green gold, sterling silver, and electroplated hematite beads and recycled sterling silver.


The Japanese concept of Mottainai expresses regret over waste and encourages respect for resources. This collection draws inspiration from the shapes and patterns on computer circuit boards found in electronic waste. In Europe we are only recovering around 15% of the precious metals in e-waste, the rest often ending up in landfill. Each of these works includes gold that is traceable recovered from e-waste.  This gold was donated by KMK Metal Recyclers in Tullamore in exchange for some e-waste collected during an artist residency at Greywood Arts in Killeagh in 2021. The gold was refined using a chemical hydrometallurgy process developed by the Love Chemistry group at Edinburgh University. The metal damascening technique known as nunome zogan (cloth weave) in Japan is a frugal way of working with gold which is an increasingly endangered metal. Ultimately, it is hoped the narrative behind this work invites us to think about where our materials come from and about the importance of recovering and recycling precious metals from disused electronics.