MEGAN MACKENZIE

Environmental / Australia

I collect broken things – things that are no longer useful or valuable.

My studio is cluttered with often ordinary, everyday, functional objects that no longer function or fulfil their intended purpose.

You will find a number of such disused and broken objects, including a toaster, a PlayStation, a fan, various car parts and broken sunglasses. Once broken, these objects are reduced to their mere material existence…regarded by most as rubbish. Yet another waste material.

Fifteen years’ worth of broken cheap sunglasses amassed in a container in my studio awaiting transformation into something new. There is nothing special about these sunglasses. They perhaps were fashionable during their active use, but not special in anyway.

Just ordinary cheap plastic sunglasses. And it usually didn’t take them long to break. Usually a screw loosens or falls out or the plastic frame breaks. The sunglasses are rendered useless. Nothing more than the plastic and metal bits they are made from.

Work

Cheap Sunglasses Break 1

Earring or brooch pin, 2019

Plastic lenses from broken sunglasses, stainless steel, recycled sterling silver, clear resin

Cheap Sunglasses Break 2

Earring or brooch pin, 2019

Plastic lenses from broken sunglasses, stainless steel, recycled sterling silver, clear resin

Experience

Education
Master of Arts (Visual Arts)
Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
Bachelor of Arts (Communication Design),
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia

Awards
Finalist, NSW Hornsby Reimagined, 2021
Finalist, Contemporary Wearables, Australia & New Zealand Biennial Jewellery Award & Exhibition 2015
First Prize, NSW Hornsby Returned to Glory Award Wearable Category, 2014
Finalist International Sydney Powerhouse Lace Award 2011

Solo Exhibition
Precious Layerings, Maker Gallery, Brisbane, Australia, August 2019
Tailgater, Small Object Gallery, Artisan, Brisbane, Australia, April-June 2016

Group Exhibition
Reimagined, Wallarobba Arts and Cultural Centre, Hornsby, Australia, 2021
State of Shine, Redcliffe Regional Art Gallery, Redcliffe, Australia, 2021
State of Shine, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne, Australia, 2019
Body Works, Maker Gallery, Brisbane, Australia, 2017
Autor International Contemporary Jewellery Fair, Grande Boulevarde,
Bucharest, Romania, 2017
Greensmith, Abrahms Glaghorn Gallery, Albany, California, USA, 2016
Contemporary Wearables Award Exhibition, Toowoomba Regional Gallery,
Toowoomba, Australia, 2015

Environmental 2021 – Cleopatra Cosulet

CLEOPATRA COSULET Environmental / Romania The step made from jewelry wearer to jewelry creator was a coincidental one, but those who followed were made consciously, determined and committed. Each piece is a concrete expression of a fugitive thought and sets an...

Environmental 2021 – Lisa Hamilton

LISA HAMILTON Environmental / USA Once upon a time, I was small, snugly wrapped, and placed in a hollow on the side of a hill under an old oak tree. The smells of the freshly dug earth, the sun dappling on my face and the gentle rocking of the tree were my...

Environmental 2021 – Lycy Spink

LUCY SPINK Environmental / UK Through my creative practise, I have become more aware of the growing disconnect of humanity from the rhythms of nature and have chosen to express this through jewellery. My work manifests my sympathy with nature and my...

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