︎techTONICS
HEARTBEAT-RESPONSIVE WEARABLE
︎ReShape 2017 Programmable Skins International Contest finalists selected for traveling exhibition
︎in collaboration with Marcos Gasc & Frank Melendez
Our
interest in heartbeat was birthed from research into human physiological
responses to emotion. With a range of sentiments comes a correlated range
of responses, variant in intensity and distributions of internal heat.
This
wearable is about creating a visual response to otherwise concealed bodily
reactions. Our hearts rhythmically beat
in patterns that can be decoded to reveal emotions, where qualitative
sensations like stress or happiness can be read and measured as quantitative
fluctuations in heartbeat changes over time.
The
mylar materiality of the fins allows this effect of overlapping opacity, with
the clear acrylic chest plate as the textural geometric base faintly
beneath. The fins are designed to be
representative of heartbeat fluctuations, their flexible material jerking and
shuddering with each pull of the mechanism.
Layers
of the fins are interconnected by wire weaving through a field of metal pinned
connections projected out from the body, all linked to one of six points on the
back rotating discs. Each of the three discs dotted along the back have
different radii, thus different ranges of rotation and speeds of movement. This
mechanical spinning mimics the movements on the chest, in similar rhythms and
jerks, but contrasts in the finesse of its layout, design, and fluidity.
The
movement of the fins produces an activated volume as a buffer zone, creating a
liminal space between body and environment, while simultaneously transcending
the barrier between the body and its internal, unseen responses to
environmental stimuli.
