Meet the Yorkshire artist repurposing deteriorating graffiti into intricate pieces of jewellery

Daniel creates pieces of jewellery from scraps of paint which come away from walls where graffiti or street art has been created. After finding the raw material, he works on it to uncover the marble-like layers of paint hidden throughout, created by the layering of months, or in some cases years worth of paint which has been sprayed on to walls.

He has titled the resulting material Re-fitti, a mix of the terms reusable and recycled graffiti, which he subsequently mounts onto metal to create jewellery.

Daniel now hopes that his use of what would otherwise be a waste material will inspire others to think differently about what they see around them.

“There are really surprising ways of reusing materials that we think of as waste,” he says. “I’m keen to show how something that is otherwise left on the ground, and that can form into bits of plastic which likely aren't good for the environment, can be used to make things.

“I really think it's important that we look at materials and consumables such as clothing or food in unexpected ways, and that we develop a way of looking at things a little bit differently.

“That's what I want to be able to do, to inspire people to see things differently, because there's a lot more material out there, I’m sure of it.”

Originally from Wensleydale, Daniel moved back to Sheffield last month, where he previously went to university. The city, he says, is an ideal spot for finding the material from which he creates his artworks.

“I was skating around Mount Pleasant Park and Devonshire Green and I noticed that near the graffiti spots there was all this dried paint on the floor,” he says.

“I picked some of it up and just noticed that it was made of thousands of layers of multi-coloured paint an d was incredibly beautiful. Being an artist and designer, I realised that I had to use this material and not let it go to waste.

“Most people are unaware that this material is on the walls and looks that way, but when seen as Re-fitti, you can appreciate the time and the history that has gone into the painting.”

When Daniel first began the practice, which he has now nicknamed Art D’Vandalism, he made small pieces of jewellery for himself and his friends.

“I began by using the bits of paint and arranging them on bits of paper into little landscapes and scenes and making pictures out of them,” he adds.

“Then I took a chunk of the material and attached it to a piece of string and wore it as a necklace, and some of my friends just thought it was really cool, so they asked for one.

“Next thing, five or six of my friends have got them, and I just started to develop it from there , getting really obsessed with it, experimenting and trying out different techniques.”

Four years on from when Daniel originally had the idea, he has now created a range of bangles, rings, necklaces and earrings from Re-fitti, which he sells through his online shop and at arts and crafts fairs.

He originally went to university in Middlesex, before completing his final years at Sheffield Hallam. Studying product design, Daniel found a passion for the stories behind products.

“I'm really passionate about design in general,” he says. “The idea of how a design comes together from start to finish is something that captivated me, and the stories that products and creations can have.

“I think Re-fitti has been a really good channel for me to explore that concept, and to be able to combine creative art with a thing that people can actually hold in their hands at the end of it.

“Every piece of art that has ever been on a wall that I take the material from, they’re all still there, layered on top of each other. It’s undoubtedly beautiful material once you see it, and It says something, it shows something.”

Though he is unable to date exactly when the first layers of paint in the material would have been daubed onto a wall, Daniel estimates that each piece of Re-fitti contains thousands of layers, which in some cases could date back around 30 years.

“To look at Devonshire Green Skatepark, for instance, that has been around for a very long time,” he says.

“It's a heritage skatepark really, a concrete dinosaur, and the graffiti on there has been around since those walls were erected in the 1990s, so maybe that's an indication as to how old the paint is. I would love to know for sure.”

Daniel also notes that there is an ethics behind how he collects the material which he uses. He picks up only pieces of dried paint which are already coming away from a wall, or which have already fallen to the ground.

“I never take away pieces of art or anything that is of value or beautiful,” he says. “However, I will take deteriorating paint, or paint that will fall off a wall in the near future.

“I also believe anything that is on the ground or due to be needs to be removed or recycled.

“Spray paint can be plastic-based, and when it's on the floor, those little bits of plastic could get trodden into the floor or turned into microplastics, which is obviously bad for the environment.”

This, Daniel adds, has meant that even people who dislike graffiti have been drawn to his work. He, however, loves graffiti. “There are some cities that really support their graffiti scene, and the art scene really thrives because of it,” he says.

“I can see why some people would feel that it is a nuisance, but I think any form of art is a form of expression. The nature of graffiti is about self-expression, and free form art and ideas, and oftentimes that is depicted through the graffiti or murals. I love it personally.”

Daniel now hopes to use what he has learned through creating Re-fitti to inform other ways of reusing materials, as well as inspiring others to do the same.

“I would be very keen to explore other materials as well,” he says.

“This is just something I’ve been able to focus on because of how versatile it is, but it’s meant that it’s taken a lot of my time up experimenting with it. I would love to have the time and space to work on other things as well. I’m sure there are numerous other materials out there that we aren't aware of, and that need to be explored.”

He also hopes that, going forward, he will be able to expand the use of Re-fitti to work on clothing or other art pieces. “I don’t know what the dream is yet, I just know that people really like it,” he says.

“I would like to see it grow, and use the material in as many ways as possible. I love exploring the colours and I’m just trying to get the most I can out of it.

“I don’t have a target audience, and whatever growth that comes from it is always going to be organic, but I’m just enjoying making beautiful things.”

Xref missing for online shop.