UpCycling Hong Kong: the circular economy of recycling material culture in Pearl River delta jewelry design

For centuries, jewelry makers and goldsmiths have worked sustainably and created circular economies by melting and reshaping precious metal objects and remounting valuable gemstones. This longstanding practice of recycling has also informed recent practices jewelry designers have creatively reused waste materials alongside precious commodities to turn “trash into treasure.” This zone presents research on upcycling practices in contemporary art and design in Hong Kong, a city that connects local with global practices while remaining rooted in Asia, one of the world’s top waste-producing and waste-receiving areas. By understanding craftsmanship as a way of thinking, the exhibition maps and investigates the pioneering roles of artists’ and jewelry designers’ sustainable practices. It challenges the mainstream understanding of Hong Kong jewelry as predominantly commercial and market-orientated. Going beyond conventional ideas on materiality and value, the zone presents insights into a vibrant scene of ecologically aware creative practitioners from different generations and cultural backgrounds engaged with the upcycling of Hong Kong’s material culture.