Pop Up Store - Maria's Site

Project Reclaim

With thanks to photography by Leon Smith who captures the mood of the pieces beautifully.
Pop up store @ Upper West Side, Melbourne
July 2014
The story behind Project Reclaim: Organic Sculpture
"As a sculptor and sustainability advocate, my work has been influenced by my interest in biological forms, coupled with the natural world and science, resulting in an eclectic and unique style. Project Reclaim is about making organically inspired designs and solar powered sustainable pieces. " Maria Simonelli
The Project Reclaim: Organic Sculpture series is made from antique fabrics and organic materials to simultaneously create a new sculptural aesthetic form while honouring a traditional women’s craft.

The pieces utilise the natural shape of fallen tree branches, with their sensuous curves, contrasted with the human crafted form through reworked antique crocheted pieces.

The openwork crochet technique allows what’s underlying to show through in an honest transparent form. The geometric patterns and symmetry of the crochets reinforce patterns found in the natural environment. In combination with the shape of the tree branches this also accentuates their form and line.

The addition of solar powered LED lighting transforms through illumination, giving yet another way of viewing the pieces.

The art pieces each aim to provide a more subtle environmental message about reuse, combining rarely used materials like crochets or remnant fabric with natural fallen tree branches and empty seed pods that would otherwise be discarded. They also attempt to create a connection so that a viewer would want to keep and nurture the pieces.

I hope that the Project assists to give a different perspective onsomething we are already aware of, such as being made more conscious of the resources we use and questioning where all our stuff ends up.

Project Reclaim

Pop up store @ Upper West Side, Melbourne

July 2014

The story behind Project Reclaim: Organic Sculpture