Author: Zoha Nadeer

Research Step 1: Choose and clarify the purpose of your wearable art

Five dangers: 

1. Being recognized 
2. Extreme cold 
3. Toxic air / air pollution
4. Predators or attackers
5. Overstimulation from loud environments

Five ways to extend bodily capabilities: 

1. Camouflage
2. Extendable limbs
3. Untouchable/sharp edges for protection
4. Hypnotizing features to distract or attract
5. Invisibility

Chosen idea: 

Camouflage 

I chose camouflage as the purpose of my wearable art project because it embodies a primal and desire to adapt to one’s surroundings, whether to avoid danger, embrace new identities, or blend into the background. I’m thinking of creating a wearable headpiece that will serve as a personal shield, allowing the wearer to visually blend into an environment. I’m inspired by the delicate anatomy of insects like spiders and butterflies, so I’m thinking the design will incorporate layered, translucent, and reflective materials to mimic the shifting colors and textures of nature.

List of associations: 

1. Butterfly wings
2. Spider legs 
3. Chameleons
4. Mirrors
5. Kaleidoscopes 
6. Moths 
7. Hexagonal patterns
8. Opals
9. Claws
10. Moss or lichen

Visuals: 

Research Step 2: Borrow a strategy

Iris Van Herpen 

Shift Souls Collection

I really enjoy the multiple layers and use of color in her designs. I think she also uses biomimicry in her designs.

Step 3: Sketches

The sculpture I picked is Le Transi de Rene de Chalon, which depicts a skeletal figure grasping a heart. I think this represents both mortality and life. The skeleton is meant to remind viewers about the inevitability of death and decay, and the heart symbolizes the remnants of vitality even in death. When I look at this sculpture, I think about rebirth, the cycle of life, and decay. The heart suggests grasping onto life and how quickly it passes. 

In my distortion, I’m going to pull at those themes of rebirth and emergence. I was thinking about making the figure rise from dirt in the ground as if breaking through the constraints of death. I am also going to try to enlarge the heart and make it appear as if it is melting – indicating the fragile nature of life.

Part A: When I was young, my mother would read me fairy tales every night before bed. She always wore her gold bangles, and the sound of them clinking as she turned the pages became a comforting part of the experience. The stories would always be weird and whimsical, with different characters and elements that piqued my interest in reading and my love for colorful illustrations. Even now, the sound of her bangles reminds me of those stories and the magic they held for me as a child.

Part B – Keywords:

1. Mother
2. Fairy tales
3. Bangles
4. Whimsical
5. Childhood
6. Pomegranate
7. Arrow
8. Magic
9. Storytelling
10. Hands

MIDE + Art & Design major

Hobbies: digital illlustration, cooking, printmaking, dance, hair & makeup for the theatre department, sasa

I’m taking this class for the Art & Design major. My interest in sculpture started after taking Sculpture 1, which I enjoyed a lot, and one of my goals as an artist was to learn more about 3D modeling software, so this class worked out perfectly with my interest in the medium.