Kexin Wen

Integrated-Small Intestine

My third wearable piece shows water that gets absorbed in the small intestine. The water pattern with tubes set on it demonstrates the twists and turns of the intestine. The thermoplastic stretches beyond the tubes symbolizing water absorption. Small dots of expandable foam stick to the thermoplastic mimic the villi, finger-like projections that made up of cells to absorb nutrients at the surface of the small intestine. A belt, linked in water forms, connects to the water pattern so that the piece can be worn on the body.

“Integrated is a set of wearable art jewellery created in response to the question “What is the nature of jewellery.” Jewellery is a form of spiritual and artistic expression, a way of thinking and a method to provoke cognitive understandings. Integrated expresses my understanding of the relationship between jewellery and the body. In these pieces, I use the symbol of water to represent the pieces becoming one with the body as water becomes one with the body. With its purpose of drawing connections between the object and the wearer, I use the space around the body to construct my pieces; the body is included as a second component in my work. To explore the topic of how the human body values water, my research focuses on the water cycle within the human body, looking into how the heart, the brain, and the small intestine interact with water as a nutrient to stay healthy. I visually portray these interactions by depicting water both aesthetically and in the physical properties of my materials, as sculpting metal and plastic results in the material taking on fluid properties. In addition, I incorporated actual fluid into my pieces to further develop the integration of water connections between the materials, the wearable art jewellery and the body. ”