i first read about carolina fontoura a couple months ago when I saw an article about her in azure magazine.  carolina is a artist with roots in mexico, brazil and the united states who specializes in repurposing found materials to make art.

her most recent project is called connect – and focuses around chandeliers made of recycled bike parts. by creating a chandelier out of discared bike parts, carolina is challenging the obsession we have with buying new things.  i personally like the idea of this project because not only is her art beautiful, it’s functional and extremely durable.

these light fixtures also poke fun at the idea of wealth — as chandeliers are typically looked at as symbols of wealth and status, i love that carolina is adding her own twist by building them out of old funky stuff. check out more of carolina’s work here!

-smiley