Engagement Ring: Wasteland – 2004
This series of five rings explores the ring as both a simple, elemental form and a powerful site of interaction.
Inspired by the resilience of plants and weeds that thrive in unlikely and often inhospitable environments, each ring in this series becomes a small ecosystem. Created using a range of upcycled and discarded materials—rubber tubing, pebbles, plastic, and rusted tin—the rings are transformed into vessels that support life, echoing the way plants reclaim and repurpose damaged landscapes.
The rings are designed to invite engagement. Some incorporate living plant matter, while others hold seeds or suggest growth through form and texture. The wearer becomes an active participant, responsible for nurturing and sustaining the plant. In turn, the plant responds to its surroundings—light, moisture, temperature—asserting its own agency and adaptability. This reciprocal relationship blurs the boundary between ornament, object, and living system.
At the heart of the series is the centrepiece: a resin “diamond” ring that contains seeds. Referencing the symbolic language of commitment and value traditionally associated with diamond rings, this work reframes what we choose to treasure. The resin diamond becomes a transparent vessel of potential growth rather than permanence, embodying a commitment to engage with the natural environment and to protect it.
Together, the five rings form a meditation on resilience, care, and coexistence. They propose jewellery not as passive decoration, but as a catalyst for awareness—inviting the wearer to carry, sustain, and reflect upon life in all its fragility and persistence.
