Shared Connections
14k Gold filled wire and salvaged SIM cards (silicone, plastic & gold) 9ct gold ear wires.
This necklace and earring set are created from SIM cards destined for the bin, a ‘must have’ consumer product of our contemporary time. Subscriber Identity Modules (SIM) record our most private information including sights, sounds and secrets that we treasure. However, the makeup of a SIM card utilizes materials such as: PVC plastic and silicon fused with gold, later being difficult to separate or break down. A discomforting thought like many consumer products which are used for a brief time and then discarded.
The creation of these is simple, yet construction more complex. There are two size SIM cards: nano and micro. Referring to their origin, the connecting pattern utilises hundreds of cards joined together to form hexagonal cell like grids, which then form two elongated waves; transmit and receive joined at alternate ends. These interlinking elements coalesce an otherwise straight form into one which playfully twists and articulates movement.
Created during COVID lockdown the network-like construction of this necklace hints at the fundamental need for humans to be constantly connected to each other, no more evident than during this pandemic. Imagine the combined number of connections that occurred daily between each of these SIM cards.