Article 22 x The Nines: Turning horror into beauty
Did you know ?
Between the years 1964 and 1973, during the Vietnam War, more than 2 million tonnes’ worth of bombs were dropped on Laos, making it the most bombed country per capita in human history.
Since the 70s, Laotian artisans and farmers have been recuperating the metal left behind from the shells and recycling these bombs into spoons.
The Nines is teaming up with Article22 for a brand-new ethical collaboration
Elizabeth and Camille, creators of the Article 22 brand, have decided to transform the remainders of these bombs into jewellery. The goal is to raise funds, together with the NGO MAG (Mines Advisory Group), who finances bomb disposal operations.
The artisans, coming from one of Laos’ most ravaged provinces by bombing, work in close collaboration with Article 22, creating jewellery by recycling metal from bomb shells and transforming it into unique pieces.
Attracted by Article 22’s approach and wanting to showcase this project, The Nines contacted the brand and together they’re launching two sets of cufflinks in solid AG925 silver and aluminium retrieved from bombs recycled by Laotian artisans. With the common goal: turning horror into beauty.
The Xiengkhuang pair, in reference to History
The Xiengkhuang pair of cufflinks depicts a shell: a symbol of the history behind the transformation from bomb to artefact. The recycled aluminium bomb shell is mounted on a solid AG925 silver base. Xiengkhuang is the region in Laos that underwent the most intense bombing in the world. In the guise of a “camouflaged” war which is still considered taboo on the other side of the Atlantic, the American army diverted more than 250 million cluster bombs, an unmanned explosive device created for the purpose of covering the most land area possible; their intent was to prevent the retreat of Northern Vietnamese forces. Over the course of 10 years, the country was subject to a bombing mission every 7 minutes.
A serie of limited edition cufflinks
Like this, jewellery becomes synonymous with happiness, courage, peace, redress and reconciliation and supports the work of an organisation and artisans who, too often, see minimal impact.
2 pairs of cufflinks have been released as a result of this brand-new collaboration:
The Ban Naphia design with the emblematic Article22 peacebomb.
The Ban Naphia set depicts the emblematic Peacebomb disc created by Article 22 mounted on a solid AG925 silver base. Ban Naphia is the Laotian village where several families part of the UXOLAO demining program safely recuperate metal and turn it into sculpted aluminium spoons which are then sold as souvenirs for the few tourists that visit the area.
