We often think about how wearables can be used to connect us to people we have in our life, but what if they could connect us with the people we’ve lost?
“Remember you will [not] die” is a speculative design project created by Pilar Fernadez Davila as part of her Master’s thesis at the Interdisciplinary Art Media and Design program at OCAD University in Toronto. It consists of a collection of wearable products that allow someone in mourning to experience data generated by the person that they’ve lost. “Social Whispers” (above) creates an immersive environment in which the wearer can hear a reading of the deceased’s Facebook feed. “Beat My Heart” (below) is a t-shirt and pillow pairing that allows the wearer to feel their loved one’s heartbeat.
“In Your Shadows” is a pair of boots that lights up when the wearer passes by places where the deceased had been. The tech behind it is based off of the Flora GPS Jacket. You can see Pilar’s development of the boots here.
The resulting work was shared through both an online store as well as a storefront gallery exhibition. Looking at Pilar’s work reminds me that the parts and materials that we work with are only one piece of what it takes to create a successful project. Concept, narrative, and presentation can make the difference between a nifty navigation tool and a meditative mourning device.
Every Wednesday is Wearable Wednesday here at Adafruit! We’re bringing you the blinkiest, most fashionable, innovative, and useful wearables from around the web and in our own original projects featuring our wearable Arduino-compatible platform, FLORA. Be sure to post up your wearables projects in the forums or send us a link and you might be featured here on Wearable Wednesday!