The contributions of the research are:
1.The label of art digital jewellery, where we discuss our craft-oriented bespoke approaches to embedded electronics into jewellery.
2. The use of a novel method - novel use of the Delphi approach to facilitate discourse amongst artists.
a group of artists articulating and critiquing their experimental practises.
And from that discussion, we identify themes to explicate art digital jewellery.
So in particular, its material qualities and its links to the wear and the maker.
The argument that we make is that that appreciation of these unique practises that are experimental and artistic in its nature,
may enrich perspectives of designing wearables, marrying craft with technology and personalisation of experiences.
Before we go further into the presentation, I would like us to sort of set up scene and discuss some definitions that I'm going to use
in this next couple of minutes. Wearables are products worn by subjects whom intelligent systems sense and manipulate.
Wearables find applications and military research and healthcare and fashion and performance.
When we discuss the term digital jewellery,
they're also interchangeable terms such as smart jewellery or interactive jewellery, sometimes also computational jewellery.
But broadly speaking, are jewellery pieces with embedded electronics, most of the times that are sort of the traditional forms of jewellery.
When I refer to contemporary art jewellery, I refer to a self-reflexive studio craft practise that is oriented to the body,
critically reflecting on the history of the jewellery and adornment field through independent art practice that result in work where wearability
or the body is defined within the subject.
And art digital jewellery are art and craft based physical-digital practises that stem from contemporary art jewellery practices.
So quite often when we think of digital jewellery or if we Google it,
we will see a picture on the left side, which is an encased fitness tracker as customisable accessories.
And this case is made out of gold. But if we take a step back and we think about what jewellery is as
objects, they are objects imbued with meaning, with personal meaning. So we carry these things around us
there are gifts from loved ones, they are relics of our family past soon to be passed onto the next generation.
I am sure you can all relate to the picture on the right side, which is a ring
that somebody is wearing from her great , great, great grandmother.
The ring continues to reflect personal identity, an enduring marriage, family history and time, which is to say, it's full of information.
Nobody in their right mind would ever consider calling them "wearable data", wouldn't they, yet the words seem to apply to this more
to the trend in this current generation of wearable technology and digital jewellery, definitely more than ever
the information that jewellery carries had ever been so explicit.
We do sense our body, we do connect with people in new ways through the medium of digital technology.
But I want us to think that the main function - take it as a given - that the main function of jewellery is that it
connects with people who have lived before us and living with us and something that is very personal to us.
So that emotional and the personal value opens up
opens up a fascinating perspective on how people attach themselves to jewellery.
and I would argue digital jewellery as well. Contemporary art jewellery give us sort of a lens to discuss the potential of digital technology
within jewellery practises through the expressive potentials of technology on the body.
So I'm there at the left side, you can see two examples of contemporary art jewellery practise and on the right side,
examples of digital jewellery practise that suggest very expressive
expressive use of technology. I'm concerned about the time I'm just going to to talk to you about light projections by Susan Herron from 1979,
where the artist explored the sensation of wearing light on her body.
So in a series of pictures, she captured herself wearing the projected line, she became part of the jewellery piece.
So the unique necklace on the right side, from a collection of artists named Pangenerator, consists of a
a pico projector connecting to a cable mounted on the wearers chest.
This projector is controlled by an iPhone app and it projects light patterns on the wearers neck.
So if we use art jewellery as a lens, then we could thinking of more experimental ways of interacting with technology,
more sensorial ways, more personal and emotional ways and critical perspectives of technology.
So to summarise, digital jewellery within art jewellery explores
expressive and personal ways that people adorn themselves and relate to each other through the digital.
The narratives of the form, the qualities of the interaction and the functionality are considered carefully by the maker.
Having that in mind, we began this iterative dialogue with six experts in the field.
This was structured in three rounds and each round had one question that was sent to all the participants via an email.
When I was receiving the answers to the first question, I was collated their responses,
and then I would send them back with a summary of the themes that are starting emerging
alongside with the next question.
Just to remind you about the questions, it was what differentiates wearable technology or a device from a piece of digital jewellery?
What are the qualities of the objects I'm going to present next?
And what is that digital technology can do that none of the other technologies can.
These are four pieces as part of my PhD where I was looking at transitions between countries of home.
I did auto ethnographic work, but also work with participants in the study.
Microcosmos is one result of that sort of effort to create more personal and
emotional and meaningfully emotional interactions for people during that transition.
it is a piece that contains a very personal text that somebody can only access during a flight journey.
When the plane reaches its maximum altitude and an LED light inside
the piece gradually illuminates, allowing the individual to manually focus on the text by sliding, by moving the slider on the right side of the piece.
Similarly, Topoi has a set of layers of microfilm enclosed within the piece and electronics
A light source is required within the form to allow somebody
to navigate, to go through these layers of film. So when a person holds the piece, the surface of the piece, made out of silver, contracts
electricity and then turns on a small LED light.
allowing somebody to navigate again through this microfilms for a couple of minutes.
Togetherness is a suite of four brooches - the digital pieces capture the time and the duration when the pieces are worn by two wearers.
The electronic components within its brooch capture time and data comprising how long and when the brooches are worn.
Chronos brooches are a result of all of the time within the relationships - a craft or an artist responds to that time with a new piece.
Travelling With Sea is a purely conceptual piece.
It is a piece for an aeroplane that remains on the plane, but the wearers can wear and interact [during a flight].
It enables the person to connect with stories and people and places from one current location.
As the plane covers vast distances, the brooch allows access as a portal to that specific location where a piece is
connected to geo location and enables a person to tap into data from that location.
Here are the themes that came out from the research.
First is that digital jewellery explicitly links with the wearer - digital jewellery is against uniformity,
general target groups and instruction manual. So there's no manual and the digital function is not quantifiable.
They carry private meanings and then they have distinct meaning that might only be known by
the wear and those close to them and acknowledging each and every wearer's idiosyncrasies.
There was a clear consensus between the respondents that wearables are designed on
a large scale as mass produced products and they are driven by functional values.
This allows people to use them for their function, for example, as a fitness tracker,
whereas the functionality of our respondents' work can be interpreted only by the wearer on the owner.
The participants agreed that they value the visual qualities of digital jewellery - they play a key role in their practice.
They were intrigued by the age of materials used in making the pieces from twig to resin to metal.
And there is a perceived importance of integrated the physical and the digital element of the pieces,
as well as combining meaningful function of the piece with its form.
The main function of digital jewellery is to hold digital data, which can be accessed in certain conditions.
This data can also be stored in the piece. There is an interesting discussion about dynamic data, data that is dynamic and unique for the wearer.
The digital features required physical presence and typically a physical action of the wearer,
arguably interacting with digital mechanisms, opening and closing and a locket for example [or pinning a brooch]
feels more intimate and personal than pressing a button or using familiar interactions with mobile phones, for example,
tapping or touch-based interactions, as we can see in the digital locket like the example from purple technologies on the right side.
There's some tensions a) that digital jewellery should be self-contained,
did not work alongside an application. They highlighted the necessity for digital jewellery to be durable, as over time the wearer can create meaning,
via both the digital interaction,
view the digital content, also the physical interaction, keeping, holding and wearing the piece. Just to conclude,
we discuss [Art] Digital Jewellery as a studio practice when the material exploration, the narratives and storytelling are really important in the practice.
And when jewellery-based interactions inform the interaction between the wearer and the piece.
As we said the function as something that is only known by the wearer or and the owner - it is a very personalised experience.
In the paper we discuss other artists' examples to support this findings
and we also bring the focus in the participatory ways of making and the personalised relationship between designers and wearers.
How [jewellery] as a discipline could grow to incorporate meaningful interactions and conceptual narratives through
the medium of digital technology while allowing the room for artistic voice and individual practitioners to emerge,
is as a conversation that will have in the future in the field. So thank you very much.
And I look forward to your questions.