KAja BEnnett

Kaja Bennett recently graduated from Arts University Plymouth with a distinction in MA Jewellery. Working with found objects is at the heart of Kaja’s practice. The collection of objects are from an island in the Oslofjord that was used as a refuse site between 1908-1949 (now long covered over), where she spent many happy summers treasure hunting along the shores as a child. By using the objects in place of precious materials within jewellery, Kaja’s aim is to find alternative materials to work with in place of new ones to reduce the environmental impact of her practice, utilising their aesthetic qualities and narrative to highlight their preciousness and to forge a connection between the audience and objects.

Working mostly with glass, Kaja uses glass cutting and polishing techniques to discover their qualities, elevating what was once deemed as worthless into something beautiful and desirable. Each of the found objects is imbued with its own story and energy, Kaja imparts some of her energy into them as she works with them and, by transforming them into something new, their story continues.

Inspired by Norwegian folklore and fairytales, Kaja’s aim is to create a sense of magic in her jewellery by combining the found objects with techniques such as electroforming to create forms that seem impossible to have been made by hand, creating the illusion that the pieces might have been discovered in another world. Kaja hopes to inspire the same sense of awe, curiosity and exploration that she felt as a child when discovering the objects for the first time.