Manon Stoeltie’s work focuses on experimentation, craftsmanship, and the artistic possibilities of material research.
She transforms waste materials into functional objects through bricolage, challenging conventional consumption and production habits. Inspired by the potential of discarded items, Manon’s designs, such as The Amended series, repurpose waste materials into new, ‘useful’ creations.
By repurposing packaging, they acquire a new function, and thus value. They become useful, whilst retaining their recognisability as waste products of consumerist, unsustainable and destructive making processes. Rather than personifying sustainable practices.
Drawing from traditional crafting techniques, such as antique plastering, and by limiting material manipulation, her approach ensures each object remains recognisable as a sum of its parts. Her mindful approach encourages curiosity and playful creation, rather than producing in response to consumer needs. As such, she continually adapts her methods to challenge her contribution to mass production and consumerism.
Her creativity is fuelled by the inherent qualities of existing shapes, textures, and techniques, pushing her to explore how these elements can be reimagined in a new context. She finds similar inspiration in architecture and natural structures, grounding her practice in both material and visual memory.
