Jewelry for Aliens Made by Nadja Buttendorf

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Do cyborgs dream of silicone ears? Do aliens yearn for human fingers? In a way both playful and insightful, jewelry artist Nadja Buttendorf questions the givens of the human body and its relationship with technology. Says Buttendorf:

“[High tech cybernetic implants are] just a very tiny part of talking about cyborgs. There has always been technology shaping the understanding of the human body and the perception of the environment.”

With such cyborg jewelry as EARrings, FINGERrings, and magnetic nail ‘explants,’ Buttendorf blurs the boundary between the human and its creations, and invites speculation into a future where cyborgs might want to try on the human body from time to time, just as much as some humans want to add cybernetic technology to themselves.

Though it superficially seems silly, Buttendorf’s art is more than just whimsy; it is a dialog with alterity, a making strange of the givens of humanity, a welcoming of perspectives other than the normatively human.

Read more at the article here: The Creators Project: Awesome Body-Part Jewelry Will Have You Seeing Double

*Light body horror/uncanny valley content warning for all links*