The Living Points: A School Project That Is Changing The Face Of Jewelry
Not much can replace the glitz and glamour of traditional jewels, but the designs entitled The Living Points are definitely about to give them a run for their money. The skeletal, abstract designs created by Ewa Sliwinska are like something out of a dream—or the next installment of Hunger Games. Meant to move with the body, the tiny tendrils of metal flick around in the light creating a metallic halo of beauty we only thought possible in 3015. As jewelry has been slowly transitioning away from classic gems and metals, the industry has been filling with new techniques and designs like 3D printing, wearable tech and now body adornments that envelope the wearer.
"By wearing the designed objects one does not simply decorate the body, but rather extend it both in the context of multidimensional shape and activity—the movement is given a new visual representation," Sliwinska told Deezen. The young Polish designer created pieces inspired by the movement of fish and birds and intended for the pieces to move with the body to show the wearer's emotion and expression. "The constructions are designed to be worn on the back or a shin, and each object is formed with dozens of elements practically levitating close to the body, responding to each body movement with vibrations adjusting to its speed and strength," she explained.
Created with elasticated PVC strips, each individual quill holds a small steel cylinder on the end for added structure, weight and balance, and are secured together on nylon thread. Not intended to be worn as traditional jewelry, the line is meant to adorn the back, thighs and arms, so the slightest of movements would be detected in the plastic and metal spines. "During the two years of conceptual work I rendered an infinite number of sketches, dozens of prototypes and body casts, experimented with more than 10 different materials," Sliwinska said.
For Sliwinska the designs are more a matter of education than creative expression—the collection is actually her thesis for her Design MA at the University of Fine Arts, Poznan. "My challenge was to imagine how people will decorate their bodies in 100 years from now," she explained. "I came up with an idea that people will not wear jewelry on their bodies—instead, the decorative objects will levitate and orbit around them just like flames of fire, showing the emotional condition of the owners."