Rome-based designers Mariangela Murgia and Alberto Catalano situate their jewelry collaboration within their work as architects. They are captivated by the evocative and symbolic nature of jewelry, as well as its role as a guardian of memories and its mysterious power to communicate cultures and identities. Their experimental practice is rooted in 3D printing with PLA, or polylactic acid, a bioplastic made from renewable, plant-based materials. Raw elements, shaped virtually on the computer, are then individually handcrafted to enhance the chromatic, luminous, and tactile characteristics of the material. Finally, the elements are assembled using an elastic matrix system of the designers’ invention, allowing for an organic wearability. Lately, they have been working on the scale of representation, developing objects that are not immediately recognizable as jewelry in order to investigate the relationship between object and wearer.
