Korn(elija) Newcomer
Hello! My name is Kornelija (Korn-eel-eeyuh), and I am a mixed media artist working with painting, video animation, and graphic design. But I primarily use my art to highlight issues like overconsumption and plastic pollution.
Did you know that in the US alone, 85% of textiles thrown away are dumped into landfills or burned?!? That is crazy. And when they say “landfills” they mean illegally dumping clothes in countries such as Chile. It wasn’t until I had lived abroad in Chile that I saw the true dark side of the fashion industry and wanted to do something about it.
Click on the image to learn more about the Atacama desert in Chile, the biggest dumping ground for discarded fashion.
Yeaahhh.. Not a fun topic. I also know that we, as individuals, often feel like we can’t do anything. But we can! Besides NOT buying from fast fashion brands (like Shein and Temu) and thrifting, we can UPCYCLE!! I believe a lot can be done from changing our consumption habits and mindset. And we are stronger in numbers. So that is why I want to teach you guys how to upcycle too!! I post a lot of DIY’s on my Instagram @kornelija.art so follow along if you want to learn.
Before I started upcycling clothes, I was upcycling washed up bits of plastic! When I was living on Oahu, I began collecting macroplastics that had washed up on beaches, and turned them into jewelry.
Click the image to read my brief on overconsumption in the fashion industry