Jewelry art doesn’t have to be all about flexing your wealth, it can still be an expression of identity and creativity. That’s the approach of Muk Titaporn Mahawan, a Bangkok artist sculpting wearable sculptures into stylish accessories. She forgoes the basic Cuban links or round cut gems, and forges ideas driven more by individuality and customization.

Mahawan created a protest series of three silver fronts in support of democracy. Another piece is reusable tea filter in the shape of a brain that ends up looking like a preserved organ in a full-brewed glass. “Tea helps me concentrate,” she laughs. “It’s good for the brain!” She also customized a pair of Fuxury shoes with teeth that wrap around the midsoles, a couple of which feature gold caps (of course).

“I really love jewelry,” Mahawan says. “But I didn’t just want to do the same thing that everyone else does. I wanted to do something new and cool. Something no one else is doing. I had to.” She studied jewelry design at university, including a year abroad in Australia and another in Korea. She sculpts the pieces in wax first, then takes them to a local manufacturer who casts the final pieces in bronze, gold, or silver, depending on the customer.

In addition to jewelry design, Mahawan is also a stylist, and she recently combined all of those skills to create a whole-body costume for Matcha‘s recent video, “Complicated.” It features a head piece, a halter top and miniskirt made out of individual bronze pieces, and chrome-pressed nails.