Mallory Weston
BETATESTERS
© Mallory Weston.
Mallory Weston’s jewelry captures the beauty of nature with a futuristic edge. The metallic leaves she makes as ornaments recall the shine of the sleek mobile devices in our hands, an analogy for the virality and propagation of information on the cybernetic landscape. While her jewelry undeniably draws from internet aesthetics, it stems from a hybrid approach combining analog processes with computer-aided design. The former approach includes stitching small pieces of metal together by hand for a pixelated surface and recreating the colors and patterns of popular tropical plants with precision by anodizing titanium. The soft joints between metal bits give the work an unexpected flexibility that follows in the tradition of celebrated artists like Arline Fisch and Mary Lee Hu, known for weaving metal jewelry.
In employing symbols of our digital culture, Weston reflects on the appeal of interactions on social media platforms. The works’ abundance of “wormhole” cavities—features that would be impossible to create without digital design tools—are not dissimilar from cameras on phones or peepholes, underscoring our society’s voyeuristic tendencies. Weston’s unlikely pairing of botany and technology is a critical exploration of the intersection between the natural and digital worlds.
B. 1986 Edison NJ
Lives and works in Philadelphia, PA
malloryweston.com
@_mallory_weston_
JW180
Mallory Weston, Shattered Begonia Brooch #1, 2022, Anodized titanium, nickel, leather, and cotton. Courtesy of the artist, photography by R & Company.
JW181
Mallory Weston, Shattered Begonia Brooch #2, 2022, Anodized titanium, nickel, leather, and cotton. Courtesy of the artist, photography by R & Company.
JW182
Mallory Weston, Shattered Begonia Brooch #3, 2022, Anodized titanium, nickel, leather, and cotton. Courtesy of the artist, photography by R & Company.
JW183
Mallory Weston, Shattered Begonia Necklace #1, 2024, Anodized titanium, leather, cotton, flocking, and epoxy. Courtesy of the artist.