Bridge#2: Wearable Fear–The bright shadow

-Assignment Intro-

This Bridge 2 project is to ask us to get in pair and interview with each other to explore what is his or her deepest fear, how long they have got it and questions surrounding this topic. After collecting a sufficient amount of information, we are asked to create a wearable device that can make us feel reassured and secured.

-Background-

My partner, Riva, is afraid of darkness and ghost since her childhood. She was then a little night-blinded and has been believing in the existence of ghosts. To conquer it, I decided to separate it into two parts: shining for darkness and incantation and religious signal for ghosts.

-Process-

-Research

 

For darkness, as she described that she always has nightmares about ghosts haunting her and she is trying to escape running on an endless dark road, I decided to both shining materials and to make an Indian traditional dream catcher. Besides, I also researched religious icons that represent purity and brightness. I found a star of David shape in Judaism represents purity and its shape is like a cute sun which provides brightness. Therefore, I decided to blend it into my project.

-Making Process

I measured her head’s circumference, 53 cm, and calculated it to make sure the final product can fit her. I made an octagon as a basic structure and wrap it with tin foil with shinning pipe cleaners as decoration and fixing installation. I hot-glued on copper wire every time I release a plastic button down along the wire so that I can decide the separation distance between 2 buttons. I decided to make it dense and as the last picture shows, it looks like scales to show a sense of protection because she said she feels secure when her head is covered.

When you twist the copper wire, you need to fold it and put one side into the driller and hold tight the two free sides. Wait for the driller to operate for seconds and the wires will be perfectly and evenly twisted. I especially applied straw rope to show a sense of sacredness. As for the copper necklace-like connections, I twine the copper wire on a pen as shown below:

After finishing the dream catcher part, I started to do a star of David as a pendant at the front. I cut the aluminum sheet into the shape like that and also cut a bedding for that to make sure it does not hurt. Besides, I also add feather as both functional and meaningful installation: it can not only make the whole headdress soft but can make sure it looks pure and provide a sense of angel (reversed meaning of ghost).

-Product Pictures

-Styling Pictures

-Omnibearing Video

-Reflection

It is quite a meaningful experience since she and I somehow conquered a little bit of our fear by doing the equipment that we think can help. In my purpose, shining materials is to reflect dim light to make sure she is seen so that help her fight against darkness while dream catcher is to psychologically hint herself that the ghosts are repelled. She also made a set of insect-body-textured circular cones which is ornamented and beautiful to psychologically hint me that insects are a kind of beauty instead of an evil. It is the key that you authentically sense it: seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting, or touching it encloses you to your fear. Just a little psychologically hinting poem goes:

Shadow: “I will be following you eternally”

Child: “You liar! When it gets dark, you just walk away from me!”

Shadow: “No honey, I am the darkness, I grow so big so that I can embrace you instead”