Broken Memories, Precarious Links by Tota Reciclados

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Tota Reciclados

Fragments of old jewellery and everyday objects, bits of fabric, photos, illustrations and other memorabilia; they lie around unused and rarely looked at in kitchen drawers, nightstands or boxes in the attic. But they are not thrown away. After all, they tell personal stories or represent precious memories. During their stay in Amsterdam, Tota Reciclados – formed by Argentinian designers Valeria Hasse and Marcela Muñiz – invited neighbours, artists and students to donate these kinds of objects and materials and to share the stories attached to them. They used the materials they were given in jewels that together make up a collection. In return each participant will get back a specifically designed piece of the final collection. As a conclusion to this project, the collection will be exhibited in CODA Museum under the title Broken Memories, Precarious Links from 21 September 2014 to 11 January 2015 inclusive.

Tota Reciclados started designing and producing jewellery made from discarded materials and objects they found in 2002, at the time of the deep economic crisis in Argentina, as a critique of the economic situation and the way we use everyday objects. However, in the past few years the Argentinian duo has mainly been working with materials given to them because they often tell a unique story. Tota Reciclados: “A lot of people are bad at throwing things away. Something can be broken but the story or the memory makes the object precious and it ends up in a drawer or a box. We are curious to hear the stories, collect these objects and materials and turn them into new jewellery objects. This way, we do not only make jewels that tell a unique and personal story but we also connect the precarious and fragile with the precious and valuable.”

Instead of the traditional techniques employed by goldsmiths, Hasse and Muñiz used metal wire and string to convert the various materials into new jewels. Tota Reciclados: “We do not want to fix the materials the jewel is made of in one place forever. There should be air and movement in the objects so they can easily be taken apart again. Moreover, we like to show exactly what the jewels are made of. After all, the point is to reuse and combine materials and so create new objects. We do not make things appear better than they are. It should be clear that we do not strive for perfection.”

The jewellery collection Broken Memories, Precarious Links came into being during the Artists in Residence project of the Françoise van den Bosch Foundation, which Tota Reciclados gave shape to while staying at Studio Rian de Jong in Amsterdam. During their two-month stay, they did not only collect the objects and materials from neighbours, artists and students, they also provided room for the personal stories attached to the materials and objects they were given. Hasse and Muñiz: “We organised several meetings with the donators and asked them about the stories behind the materials or objects they had given us. These conversations were all recorded and photographed so that the stories would be captured and preserved too.” These photos were turned into a presentation that was exhibited in gallery Achter de ramen in Amsterdam in 2013.

http://www.coda-apeldoorn.nl/tota/english

Tota Reciclados
The Argentinian duo Tota Reciclados consists of designers Valeria Hass (1963) and Marcela Muñiz (1959). Valeria Hasse was trained as a graphic designer at the university of Buenos Aires. After that, she followed a postgraduate course at the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht (2000). Marcela Muñiz is an architect who also studied at the university of Buenos Aires. She was Artist in Residence at the Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart, Germany in 2005. Hasse and Muñiz are based in Buenos Aires but travel all over the world with their projects and workshops. Their work is part of several private collections and the collection of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo, Norway.

Tota Reciclados were selected as Artists in Residence by the Françoise van den Bosch Foundation in 2013. During their stay in Studio Rian de Jong in Amsterdam they developed Broken Memories, Precarious Links, creating a new jewellery collection with its own story, made up of old materials and existing stories and memories. The concluding exhibition with the same title will be staged in CODA Museum from 21 September 2014 to 11 January 2015.

Workshop
03.10 or 05.10.2014
In October, Valeria Hasse and Marcela Muñiz will conduct a two workshop in which materials or objects brought along by the audience will be assembled into new jewels. Participants will be educated on various techniques.

Costs are € 5, per child and € 7,50 per adult.

Please sign up via aanmeldingen@coda-apeldoorn.nl mentioning Tota or call 0031 55 5268 400.