Art Digital Jewellery

<sup>Poetic Explorations of digital technology and contemporary art jewellery practices.

by Nantia Koulidou</sup>

https://www.nantiakoulidou.com/

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Taking a research-through-design with craft sensibilities approach I design artistic propositions in the digital age that value the complexity and uniqueness of being human.  I introduce below exemplars of digital jewellery objects that offer alternative ways of connecting a person with personal anchor points, significant others and places. The pieces were inspired by the lives of three participants and myself who all frequently travel back to their native countries, but who live permanently in the UK and experience feelings of transition and what we describe as “being in-between”. This research has been part of my doctoral research. You can find more on my publication on my personal website 

Most digital devices come with a set of expectations such as: What does it do? How long is battery life? How cutting edge is the technology? By contrast, this research offers a focus on atypical personal interactions in order to address a different range of questions and potentially open up our expectations of the digital.

My work continues the discussions on how jewellery practices and digital technologies can suggest more poetic interactions for people. 

Art Digital jewellery can challenge our expectations of digital connectivity, sensor functionality and location awareness.

left to right Topoi 2017. Milliput epoxy putty, coal, oxidised silver, magnifying lens 10x, found objects, electronics components (a capacity sensor, an LED light, a Teensy 3.2 board and a tiny battery). @NantiaKoulidou Microcosmos. 2017. Found objects, sterling silver, velvet fabric, magnifying lens 60x, electronics (Arduino Nano 3.0 board, BMP180 Barometric Pressure Sensor, an LED light, push button and a lithium battery). 5cmx5cmx3cm right. b) Looking through the glass. Togetherness: Anthos Brooches 2017. c) Anthos brooches 3D printed wood filament,  A found twig, silver and electronic components (Tinyduino boards - a real time clock, processor with battery support, a USB shield, a protoboard, an SD card and a 140mAh lithium polymer battery). 7cmx5cmx5cm.

Topoi: A piece of Art Digital Jewellery that invites someone to explore a personal space

Topoi is a hand-held piece of digital jewellery containing tiny microfilm images from two countries that are significant to the owner. The piece is composed of a digital and a non-digital element. The digital part resembles a rock formation that is made of modelling putty with embedded crushed coal and oxidised silver. Within the piece are electronic components (which we will describe later) and layers of microfilm which are visible through a viewing window made from the edge of a found thimble. The non-digital part of the piece is a magnifying lens mounted in a silver frame, with a handle made from a found teaspoon. This lens allows the owner to look into the rock shaped form. A light source is required from within the form in order to view the images when using the magnifying lens and this is activated in response to human touch (see Figure 2b). When a person holds the digital piece, the surface of the piece, (being made of silver) conducts electricity and turns on a small LED light. The electronic components are a capacity sensor, an LED light, a Teensy 3.2 board and a tiny battery. The capacity sensor detects when the contact is made, and the LED light gradually responds to the human touch and pressure of the palm by slowly lighting up. When the contact is broken, the light goes out instantly, however, when a person holds the piece tightly for a while, the light reaches full intensity and stays illuminated for a brief period of time after contact has been broken. With external light alone, only the first layer of microfilm images is visible, however by activating the internal LED light, the viewer can see the other images on multiple layers of microfilm, which appear and recede by manipulating the magnifying lens. This gives the opportunity to peek briefly through the glass and interact with the images in short bursts, before the light fades gradually again.

Microcosmos:  An Art Digital Jewellery Piece for the Airplane

Microcosmos is a hand-held piece of digital jewellery containing a 16mm microfiche image (see image below) that can only be accessed during an airplane flight. The image depicts an image of a potent text that is significant to the owner. The piece is made of found objects, silver and velvet fabric. Enclosed within the found tin are a magnifying lens, a tiny image and the electronics (Arduino Nano 3.0 board, BMP180 barometric pressure sensor, an LED light, push button and a lithium battery). The handle, made from a found spoon, acts as a slider that allows the person to move the lens up and down, while the velvet fabric covers the opening of the slider to ensure smooth motion and minimum light inside the piece. Below the slider there is a push button; once the button is pressed the electronics start measuring the air pressure in the environment. The viewer, made from the edge of a found thimble, allows the person to view the film that is located at the bottom of the piece when light comes through it. As the plane reaches its maximum altitude (approximately 30.000 feet), an LED light inside the piece gradually illuminates allowing the individual to manually focus on the text by moving the slider. Following the take-off, the cabin pressure gradually drops until it stabilises again as the plane climbs to the cruising altitude. The light then stays on until the sensor detects a significant increase  in air pressure, which indicates that the plane is beginning to descend (dropping its altitude for landing). Consequently, the light starts fading out, thereby allowing one to view the image one final time for this journey

Personal North: An Prototype for an Art Digital Jewellery Piece that always points “home”

Travelling with the Sea: A visual prototype for a piece of Art Digital Jewellery that unlocks data of interest during a flight

Travelling with the Sea 2017. Visual Prototype. Porcelain disk (diameter:3cm), sea pottery, sterling silver, gold powder, mobile application.

Togetherness: Anthos and Chronos Brooches: A suite of connected brooches that captures time and meaning in a relationship

Togetherness is a suite of four brooches. The first elements are a pair of digital brooches Anthos, meant for two wearers - each living in a different country. They are made from 3D printed wood filament, a found twig, silver and electronic components. The second element of the suite is a further pair of non-digital brooches (Chronos) made as a result of the data collected from how the first pair of Anthos brooches are worn. They are composed of a twig, layers of coloured resin and stainless steel.

Two people each wear one of the Anthos brooches over a period of time and as they do so the electronic components within each brooch (Tinyduino boards - a real time clock, processor with battery support, a USB shield, a protoboard, an SD card and a 140mAh lithium polymer battery) capture time and date data comprising how long and when the brooches are worn. Each Anthos brooch is constructed such that once the silver brooch pin is fastened (i.e. when someone pins it onto their clothing) the electronic circuit is closed, and the data is then recorded and stored. As such, the brooch pin itself acts as the on/off switch in the electronic circuit.



After the two people have worn the Anthos brooches for a period of time (designated by them) the SD cards are removed, and the stored data is used to inform the composition of the new Chronos brooches. Chronos were made by using another portion of the twig used in the Anthos pieces and dipping this into pots of coloured resin in response to and (guided by) the data of how long the Anthos brooches were worn. Once the twig has been dipped into multiple layers of different colours of resin the piece is cut open to reveal a cross section of coloured rings and the forms are made into the new Chronos brooches through the simple addition of a stainless-steel pin.


Chronos Brooch

‘Microcosmos’, ‘Togetherness: Connected Brooches’, ‘Topoi’, ‘My Personal North’ and ‘Travelling with the Sea’ expand our understanding of what digital jewellery can be by embodying interactions that highlight the sensorial and imaginative aspects of digital technology.