Rough polish: Chandeliers from cycle parts by Carolina Fontoura Alzaga.

You know the scene! Turn up to a fancy cocktail party in your biker boots, fully leathered-up, only to be stared at by men in black velvet jackets with bow ties, and thin girls in short black dresses and high heels! Well the artist Carolina Fontoura Alzaga also shares your passion for a “bit of rough” and has expressed it in these fabulous chandeliers made of recycled metal and salvaged bicycle parts . The series of pieces is called CONNECT. Each piece works by exploiting the tension of incongruous machine parts, the production of which has been considered as a male working class activity, in what has traditionally been regarded as a genteel upper class context. Power, social class, gender and environmental sustainability are the subjects these pieces so beautifully explore. Visit the gallery to see more of Carolina Fontoura Alzaga's work. Gratitude to Etsy for drawing this work to my attention.