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Using jewelry to harness human energy
Associate Editor Brecken Branstrator delves into another unusual category of jewelry, this time looking at the rather invasive pieces one designer said could capture a human’s kinetic energy.
Industrial designer Naomi Kizhner has developed a line of jewelry called “Energy Addicts.” It was part of Kizhner’s graduation project at Jerusalem’s Hadassah College, reflecting what would happen in an energy crisis in the future and a solution that harnesses the human body, particularly the flow of blood through our veins, as a renewable source of energy.
The jewelry is made of gold and 3-D printed biopolymer material, and attaches to various body parts in ways that would be able to use the kinetic energy we create without even thinking about it.
Kizhner told me over email that more than the practicality of the design and function of the jewelry, the most important part of the project was the psychology behind it.
“Theoretically speaking, I don’t know how far the idea is from reality. It’s mainly the question that I wanted to raise: Will we be willing to sacrifice our bodies in order to produce more energy?
My intention is mainly to provoke a discussion, to make us think about our possible futures.”
She adds that she chose that design aesthetic “to reach an organic-mechanic feel in order to contradict the two elements--the body versus the machine.”
Check out the pieces below. (I tried to pick out the least creepy pictures. Some of them were making the staff here at National Jeweler want to faint. For those with a morbid curiosity, though, here’s the website with more images.)
Here’s the piece called “Blinker,” which harnesses the energy produced by blinking.
The “Blinker” is placed on the bridge of the nose and across the eyelids. Because of an increase in blood flow around the eyes when a human blinks, this piece is supposed to be able to collect that energy and convert it for future use.
On the left is the “Blood Bridge” and on the right is the “E-pulse Conductor.”
Both of the spikes at each end of the Blood Bridge are inserted into a vein. The blood stream spins the wheel inside and creates movement that could be turned into energy. The E-pulse Conductor, meanwhile, is meant to be pierced onto the back, taking energy from neurological pulses sent through the wearer’s spine.
While
yes, it is strange and makes me weak in the knees to think about inserting something like that into my veins, I do think it’s interesting to think of jewelry being innovated and used in ways such as this.
What do you think? Cool or just too creepy?
What do you think? Cool or just too creepy?
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