HOW DO YOU KEEP YOURSELF SANE?

Format: Wearable Bio-art Installation
Skills: Art Direction, Cross-Media Design, Product Design, Fashion Design, Knitting, Sound Design, Visual Storytelling, Coding

Year: 2024

“How do you keep yourself sane?”
In moments when things felt heavy and language failed, I often turned toward plants—modest ones by my window, or the quiet rhythm of a forest. Their stillness didn’t try to fix anything. It simply reminded me to breathe. Through the delicate sounds of their existence, I sought to reclaim the peace we had lost through this project. And for many, life feels like a constant struggle to survive amidst chaos. Maintaining our mental wellbeing while navigating through life’s many distractions and hardships is an ongoing battle.

‘Noises’ that surround us can especially easily disrupt this balance. Yet, are we ever truly free from the never-ending buzz of external noises - traffic, alarms, and people? We are constantly told unwanted external audio stimuli by something / someone. This project is a wearable Soundscape designed to address this issue.

The main object, the Singing Plant Headpiece, detects subtle bio-signals through conductive threads and metal clips attached to the plant. These signals are interpreted in real time by a programmed microcircuit and transformed into ‘live’ sound. The bioelectric responses are mapped using capacitance data, which is then translated into ambient audio frequencies via a microcontroller interface.

By listening to real-time music from the plant while wearing the headpiece, one can own the sound of peace metaphorically whilst being the root of the microenvironment.

The dress features graphics inspired by cymatics—the visual patterns produced by sound frequencies known to positively influence mental health, including 396 Hz, 432 Hz, 528 Hz, and 639 Hz. Alongside the headpiece, this garment aims to provide wearers with a tangible, wearable experience of tranquillity. Additionally, the headband is specifically designed to alleviate insomnia and block out disruptive noise during sleep. The earplugs are customised and moulded precisely to fit the individual wearer's ears for optimal comfort and effectiveness.