Zhiyang Ding

Zhiyang's current work explores these key words: human evolution and alienation, the impact of e-products, the human-machine relationship, and visions of future human life. The main techniques used in the work are metal welding, 3D printing, silicone molding, digital programming, and interactive technology.

This project discusses the impact of digital technology and electronics on the human body and mind. It further predicts the future evolution of the human body and builds a museum of future evolution. He have noticed that the overuse of these electronic devices not only affects people psychologically, but the human physical body is also gradually changing. 

He was influenced by scholars such as Donna Haraway.Haraway thoroughly examined the concept of cyborgs, as the fusion of humans and machines, to see how science and technology could transform nature and cross boundaries that humans take for granted. In The Cyborg Manifesto,Haraway discussed how new technologies can support the construction of a utopian society where the identity dilemmas of the present, based on race or gender, can be transcended.

 In his work on this theme, he wants to create a museum of the future human body that is somewhere between science and fantasy, using the movement and appearance of movable mechanical jewellery to shock the viewer into realising that electronics should be used correctly, thus creating a future society where humans and machines live in harmony.

Zhiyang Ding is a jewellery designer and artist. He recently exhibited his work at the RuptureXIBIT gallery in London.During his undergraduate studies at the Beijing Institute of Fashion, Zhiyang Ding worked as a jewellery designer and jewellery workshop teacher in Shanghai, and after graduating from the Beijing Institute of Fashion in 2021, he began his Masters degree in Jewellery and Metals at the Royal College of Art in September of the same year.

His research practice is based on digitally manufactured mechanical jewellery as a vehicle to discuss the relationship between human and technology and machines. In his practice, he has a foundation in metalwork, 3D modelling software (Zbrush, Rhino), and mechanical programming.During his studies, Zhiyang was greatly influenced by kinetic sculpture and mechanical installations. His jewellery making process has included several attempts to combine mechanical movable structures with jewellery. During his studies at the RCA, Zhiyang began to learn digital programming techniques, working on collaborative projects with a number of service design and IDE students, where he experimented with new combinations of jewellery with digital programming and interactive techniques.