3D-Printed Jewelry Collection Takes Inspiration From Arthropods

Everyone's got an irrational fear of something: flying, breathing, insects. That last one you can pretty much include most people in—there's possibly some deeply ingrained reason why we fear insects, maybe because there's so many more of them on the earth than us so we have to be wary, incase they start to walk upright.

Artist and designer Dorry Hsu has taken her own fear of creepy crawlies and turned it into a stunning 3D-printed jewelry set, The Aesthetic of Fears. "My collection is about the aesthetic and the attraction of fears," Hsu explains, who's currently studying for her master's degree at the Royal College of Art in London.

And the collection—which includes intricately bulky rings and bracelets, collar plates, and even masks, all resembling insects—is certainly not your everyday jewelry .

The designer told Dezeen, "In many cultures people wear masks to scare evil away, so the masks are decorated with frightening images from the wearer’s own fears." On her website she elaborates that, through introspection, she chose to “recreate the objects of reflecting self fear with the bugs of many legs.”

Hsu worked with the RapidformRCA program at the Royal College of Art to create the collection. RapidformRCA, which is a digital manufacturing and rapid prototyping center, gave her access to tools, such as a haptic arm, which Dorry used to design these fascinating and complex accessories.

Hsu using the haptic arm

The haptic arm is a tool that essentially allows the user to draw 3D designs on the computer. Dorry likens the process to “building up clay in a computer program.” The arm acts as a computer mouse, letting her feel the tension of the clay.

In addition to the haptic arm, Hsu used clear resin and stereolithography (SLA) to print her arthropod-esque jewels and attached them to latex straps.

Hsu created each piece's unique coloring by dipping them into boiling dye, which allowed her to add one hue of color at a time.

The result is delicately shaded and intricately built pieces of jewelry. The collection earned her a spot as a finalist at the International Talent Support Jewelry Competition this past July.

Check out the rest of Dorry’s collection below.

Image courtesy of Creative Review

Image courtesy of Creative Review

[via Dezeen]

Unless otherwise noted, all images courtesy of Dezeen.

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