Platinum Jewelry Design · 2020
Dance Anatomy Ring and Earrings
- A' Design Award 2020 Platinum Winner in Jewelry Design
- Awarded April 15, 2020
- CLIENT: Xenia Gai
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 174,541
- Verification code C69A3FA924 · Verify this award
About Dance Anatomy Ring and Earrings
Dance Anatomy is a jewelry collection inspired by contemporary dance. The three objects, produced in two colors, reinterpret the human body through bionic lines and shapes. Fixed dance positions were studied, and muscle tension, relaxation and stretching were translated into a simplified graphic language. The forms are 3D printed in nylon, which makes the pieces flexible and resistant to damage. Two of the three objects can be worn as earrings or as pendants, because the silver earwire can be replaced with a lace or a chain.
Ksenia Zagaynova's Dance Anatomy Ring and Earrings collection emerges from the fertile intersection of digital fabrication technologies and the enduring human impulse to adorn the body with meaningful form, this particular piece suggesting deep engagement with how movement notation and anatomical study might inform three-dimensional personal ornament, the designer appears to translate the ephemeral qualities of dance, those suspended moments of extension and flow, into permanent sculptural presence through sophisticated understanding of contemporary material possibilities, the work participates in broader conversations within experimental jewelry practice concerning the expansion of acceptable materials beyond precious metals and gemstones toward polymers and composites that permit forms impossible through traditional techniques, compositionally the piece demonstrates remarkable control over visual rhythm as repeated curved elements create melodic progressions from dense to sparse, the matte black surface treatment eliminates distraction from reflected light allowing pure appreciation of form and shadow, one might observe references to natural structures, perhaps neural networks, root systems, or the muscular striations revealed in anatomical illustration, yet these biological echoes remain sufficiently abstracted to invite multiple interpretive frameworks, the ring functions simultaneously as intimate personal adornment and miniature sculpture, challenging conventional hierarchies between fine art and decorative arts that have historically subordinated jewelry to lesser cultural status, technical accomplishment manifests in the precision of attenuated elements that maintain structural integrity despite their delicate appearance, suggesting mastery of both digital modeling and an understanding of material behavior under stress, viewers might consider how contemporary technology enables forms that honor ancient human desires for beauty and meaning while speaking distinctly contemporary visual languages
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The Dance Anatomy collection represents a reinterpretation of the human body. The lines and shapes look bionic and could remind any other organic creatures. They are 3D-printed in nylon which makes them flexible and damage-resistant. 2 objects can be worn as earrings or pendants after simple replacement of the earwire with a lace or chain.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Object 1: H - 10 cm W - 5 cm D - 1.5 cm
Object 2: H - 10 cm W - 4.3 cm D - 1.5 cm
Object 3: H - 4 cm W - 7.2 cm D - 1.5 cm - Tags
- jewelry, design, pendants, earrings, rings, dance
- Production Technology
- 3D-modelling, 3D printing in nylon (polyamide). Silver earwire, textile lace.
The design was visualized in Rhinoceros, using Tsplines plugin. - Design Challenge
- The hardest part of the research lied in the detection of the right principle that would allow transferring a dancer position into graphic language. The author studied different aspects of dancing, namely the geometry of different dance positions, the cinesphere of a dancing person but these principles did not lead to a necessary esthetic result. In the end the research of the muscles behavior allowed to achieve the right result.
Secondly, it was hard to create the 3D models of the objects as they consist of many lines that could not intersect. - Project Duration
- The project started in April 2019 in Moscow and finished in the end of June 2019 in Moscow. It was exhibited in Zveno jewelry shop and gallery.
- Operation Flow
- There are 3 objects in this collection, represented in 2 colors. The 2 of 3 can be worn as earrings or pendants. The leather lace or silver ear fixture can be easily inserted and removed when needed.
- Research
- The objective of the research was to analyze the processes occurring in the body of a dancer and to choose a principle that would allow translating them into graphic language and into real objects. The designer took pictures of dancers in captured dance positions and analyzed muscle tension and stretching in different parts of their bodies. In order to detect the state of muscles the author consulted the anatomy book and a former dancer. The designer used a solid color for those muscles that were keeping balance and were the most tense, the waved lines - for muscles being more relaxed and straight lines - in order to show the stretched parts.
- Inspiration
- The Dance Anatomy collection was inspired by contemporary dance. In this work I studied the fixed positions of dancers and the processes existing in their bodies. For example, some muscles are tense and some are relaxed, others are stretched. I have translated these processes into the simplified graphic language and came up with the forms and silhouettes that further became wearable objects (earrings, pendants, rings).
Colors of Dance Anatomy Ring and Earrings
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G0E9 ShopDesign Interview about Dance Anatomy Ring and Earrings
I love dancing and find some kind of magic in the movement of dancers. My idea was to capture the moment and translate it into graphic language and further into real objects.
The main focus was to analyze the processes occurring in the body of a dancer and to choose a principle that would allow to translate them into graphic language and into real wearable objects, bionic and sophisticated.
I'm planning to dye these pieces in different colors using gradients as well and selling them in the Russian market.
The whole proccess took me around 3 months – from idea to research, 3D modeling and printing and implementation.
This design was my diploma (graduation) project in the Higher British School of Art and Design in Moscow. So I chose this topic as dancing inspires me greatly.
This design is produced by myself for my brand XENIA GAI.
As I've mentioned before, I've always been inspired by dancing and as I design wearable objects, I wanted to capture the processes ocurring in a human body and transfer them into jewelry.
I was mainly inspired by the captured positions of contemporary dancers.
In my view, the target customer is a woman that would like to express herself by adding interesting accents to her simple look, aged 30-45, working in creative industries.
I think it's the shape and structure which is very sophisticated and a light weight as it's 3D printed in nylon.
As I studied dancing and the processes ocurring in the human body, namely the tention in different muscles, I called it Dance Anatomy.
Research, sketching, 3D modeling using Rhino and Tsplines.
As I studied the dancers and my references were the exact dancing positions, I would say that the shape of each piece is unique.
I collaborated with the company that prints objects in nylon from 3D models.
The role of technology is crucial here as without knowledge of 3D modeling programs it would be difficult to create the needed shape and further to implement it in material using 3D printing technology as it is hard to create these pieces in metal and they would be fragile. Nylon allows flexibility and the pieces are less fragile and more light and some of them can be worn both as pendants and earrings.
I took pictures of dancers in captured dance positions and analyzed muscle tension and stretching in different parts of their bodies. In order to detect the state of muscles I consulted the anatomy book and a former dancer. I used a solid color for those muscles that were keeping balance and were the most tense, the waved lines - for muscles being more relaxed and straight lines - in order to show the stretched parts.
The hardest part of the research lied in the detection of the right principle that would allow transferring a dancer position into graphic language. I studied different aspects of dancing: the geometry of different dance positions, the cinesphere of a dancing person but these principles didn’t lead to a necessary esthetic result. In the end the research of the muscles behavior allowed to achieve the right result.
Secondly, it was hard to create the 3D models of the objects as they consist of many lines that couldn’t intersect.
Secondly, it was hard to create the 3D models of the objects as they consist of many lines that couldn’t intersect.
I already took part in Adesign Award competition with my other collection Transforma that won a Silver Award. I decided to submit this project too as it is my graduation work and is sort of a quintessence of my knowledge and effort.
First of all I learned a lot about dancing and the aspects that constitute the theory of dance. Secondly I studied the Tsplines plugin in order to create the needed shape. And finally, it was the first time I worked with nylon.