Talk about being self-sufficient, but totally weird! Israeli student designer Naomi Kizhner has designed a collection of jewelry that harvests energy from veins in the human body. The project highlights in a beautiful and artful way how humanity is addicted to energy consumption.
It may be a thought experiment more than anything, but these jewels provoke a fascinating discussion about the ends to which humans will go in order to get the next hit of energy.
Appropriately called Energy Addicts, the project explores the numerous sources of energy the human body produces and then seeks to exploit them. Made of gold and a 3D-printed biopolymer, each jewel taps a particular involuntary physiological response.
“It interested me to imagine what would the world be like once it has experienced a steep decline in energy resources and how we will feed our energy addiction,” Kizhner told an online source.
“There are lots of developments of renewable energy resources, but the human body is a natural resource for energy that is constantly renewed, as long as we are alive.”
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For example, stems on either end of the Blood Bridge are inserted into veins on the lower arm, and blood spins the wheels to produce energy – much like hydroelectricity.
The E-pulse Conductor is slightly less invasive – it harvests electrical pulses produced by the neurological system in the wearer’s spine. But the Blinker is kind of creepy. This piece of jewelry is mounted to the wearer’s nose and eyelids to harvest kinetic energy every time the eyes blink.
Kizhner designed this series as part of her graduation project in industrial design for Hadassah College in Jerusalem. More than an intention to create items that actually harvest energy, the project is supposed to open our eyes to consumption and our dependence on it.
Judging by her early project, this talented young designer is going places!
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
