Upcycling Art by Carina Mendonça: Breathing New Life with Sustainable Creativity
Born at Funchal in 1983, it was when Carina Mendonça moved to the northern part of the island that she got in touch with her inner self, embracing experimental and grotesque art in its purest meanings, as the nature surrounding. She has become self-taught artist, beginning a journey towards inner knowledge, who daily continues to explore. In her work we can fell freedom has who never been restricted to mandatory techniques .
Since 2009, she developed a craft project called CM art work, were she use recycled materials to create her art pieces with unique design.
Is there a particular moment in your life when you realized you wanted to work with upcycled materials?
In my experience, I don’t think there was a specific moment. Quite the contrary, this choice was gradual and natural. I think it's more of a path than a choice.
There is a proverb that says that necessity sharpens ingenuity, with which I identify a lot and in a very general way it defines my artistic trajectory. I always wanted to create, to give physical form to ideas, but I didn't always have the capital available to invest in raw materials. This made me develop an awareness of the materials that surrounded me and I began to realize their potential for artistic creation.
Do you feel that your art expresses something that words cannot? If so, what is it?
If we think that the birth of any piece of art begins with an idea, and that in turn, it is born with and through words, it becomes difficult for me to sustain a claim that art expresses something that words cannot.
However, from the viewer's perspective, this is no longer the case. What for me is my art based on emotional reasoning, for him in observing the piece, a completely different reality begins that may not need to go beyond a sensation or emotion.
What inspired you to start using upcycled materials in your artwork?
In a very unconscious and natural way I give relevance to my childhood and education.
My mother always made me aware of waste, whether it was food or other goods. I remember that she was very fantastic at transforming one thing into another, for example the corner of a plastic bag that, if cut, turned into a parachute for my dolls.
Or with the help of wooden chopsticks and a cut and shaped potato we would make a seat to create a swing for my dolls, and even create clothes for them with fabric waste. Then, as I grew up, I liked to straighten up and started creating my own jewelry with different materials that I found stimulating.
I think this creative awakening was essential for my choices in my creative process.
What types of materials do you find most exciting to work with and What are the biggest challenges you face when working with upcycled materials?
I currently use a lot of recycled paper with different transformation processes, used for different purposes. I use newspapers and news diaries to create cardboard sheets that I use as support for painting. Another process is the transformation of these newspapers into paper pulp mixed with wood glue to create sculptures. These sculptures can include materials such as wire, copper, broken crockery, stones, metals from various objects, wood, glass, etc.
In my other CM art work project which is more crafty, where I create graphic diaries and rag dolls, each piece with a unique design, I use all these materials I mentioned above, and all the others that I feel the desire and freedom to explore, such as fabrics , plants and their roots, flowers, moss and lichens, tree barks, fibers, corn stove, banana tree bark, seeds and grains, ashes, earth and sand, trash such as lighters, coins, etc.
Many of these materials end up being trash, but with my vision and transformation I feel like I give each material a new cycle and a new purpose.
Obviously each material has its specificities, shapes and textures, which means I have to adapt to each material and understand the most appropriate ways to work with it. For example, knowing the most suitable fabric for its purpose, understanding the different flexibilities and resistances.
Another challenge in relation to organic materials, for example, is the decay of a fiber, as trying to change it will be a thankless battle that I will never win. (ahahahaha)
Finding the right time to use a beautiful branch or flower is also a challenge, as you have to be thoughtful and patient for the right moment to apply it, instead of using it impulsively..Other challenges that I have is the ambient temperature. I need time and at least a mild temperature so that my sculptures have time to dry and solidify, and most of the time this is a process of adding material that is done in several phases. That's why the colder seasons are more challenging to develop my work.
How do you think art can foster a greater sense of community around sustainability and environmental awareness?
The exchange of ideas and dialogue makes us aware of many themes and realities that we are not yet aware of.
Art using recycled materials is also an expression of an idea with purpose, which, when transmitted with presence and constancy, will find those who listen, take it for themselves and make it their own.
If I manage to convey an idea of sustainability and environmental awareness to someone, and they in turn encourage this idea to someone else, the community chain becomes real in practice and goal and not just as impractical concepts.
How do you think upcycling and using reclaimed materials in your art connects with the broader conversation around fashion sustainability?
The idea of reusing materials, adapted to their purpose, can really be a good stimulus, when used in a fashion piece. Just like a seed that germinates, an idea or message can be the beginning of a desire towards creative sustainability.
What role do you think artists and designers play in shifting the fashion industry towards more sustainable practices?
We all have a path and a choice to make.
We will always have artists who are interested, and those who are not. The radicals and the average ones. However, we would be wrong if we think that our options will not be increasingly “seen” by the public and therefore, our work will increasingly be judged not only by its conceptual, visual and creative aspects, but also in relation to its environmental impact. We are free in our choices, but prisoners of consequences.
I personally am in the average phase. I use a lot of recycled, waste and reuse material, but I use varnishes and paints too. I want my journey to be constant but stable without major radical commitments that I cannot maintain later.
Even so, the use of these recycled materials, organic or not, are and will be a constant on my journey, … and that… It's already something!!!
Do you see parallels between your work and the slow fashion movement, which emphasizes thoughtful consumption and quality over quantity?
I think so! In my work, in addition to environmental awareness, the transformation of products, materials or objects into new pieces are also forms of the slow fashion movement. Just like this model, my work also tells a story, where each piece has an origin, a special touch, a unique characteristic. Consumers can know how each piece was made and even by whom and where. This creates a synergy between the creator, the piece and the consumer, making the consumer give more importance to quality than quantity.
How do you balance creativity and sustainability when considering fashion trends or influences in your work?
I don't consider it. The creative process in my work is more inside-out than outside-in. Influences on fashion have little or no relevance, unless in a satirical and ironic way, I want to take some concept that I find interesting for the public to reflect on, which makes them develop artistic work.
We would like to thank the artist for providing the photogaphs
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