Michelle Cangiano is a contemporary jeweler and exhibiting artist who lives and works in Melbourne. Co-founder and Director of the independent jewelry studio FIVETWELVE, she produces limited-edition handmade contemporary jewelry and one-off pieces for private commissions. Inspired by the meanings people imbue into jewelry and small-scale objects, her work investigates the historical and present-day ceremonies, rituals, and superstitions connected to jewelry as signifier. Her approach to making encompasses a range of techniques, embracing the meeting of the traditional and unconventional, and materials spanning precious metals and stones through to mild steel, paint, and paper. For her latest collection, “Paper Cuts,” Cangiano draws on her painting background and employs the simple yet time-consuming technique of threading and knotting paper discs to create pieces that seem to shift and change color as they move with the wearer.
