Foreign Bodies - The creation of symbiotic jewellery through the development and application of stimulus-responsive smart materials and microelectromechanical systems

With the increased prevalence of digital technologies in our everyday lives, the questions posed to the contemporary craft practitioner regarding creation of an emotionally resonant interaction between the digitally enhanced object and its wearer have become progressively more prominent in the applied arts. Through examining the notion that human biology is a part of material culture, where the body can be shaped, customised or altered through surgical intervention and scientific innovation, this extended abstract explores how recent developments in material science and wearable technologies can be viewed as contiguous rather than oppositional to the organic processes of the human body and how to bridge the gap between the craft practitioner and scientific discovery. More immediately however, this research project challenges the perception of smart materials and their application within the field of contemporary jewellery in both an artistic and scientific context through proposing the development of symbiotic stimulus-reactive jewellery organisms. Potential practical applications of these jewellery objects exist in the areas of human–computer interaction, transplant technology, identity management and artificial body modification including prosthetics, where such symbiotic jewellery organisms could be used to develop visually engaging yet multifunctional enhancements of the body.