Zhiyang Ding

This project discusses the impact of digital technology and electronics on the human body and mind. It further predicts the futu

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's current work explores these key words: human evolution and alienation.

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.

Facial fingers

People are now communicating less and less face-to-face, replacing them with overuse of mobile phones for typing and working on computers..So in the future people will have fingers growing out of their mouths to type and communicate, and people will gradually lose the function of speaking.

In Collaboration with:

Technical Support: Zihao Guo IDE

Medium:

Brass, silicone, resin, motor

Size:

15*18.9*26.3cm

Evolved ears

Bending or squeezing the delicate cartilage of the pinna under headphones can cause pain, and you run the risk of causing a skin abrasion that could get infected.

I researched the phenomenon of the deformation of the ear due to the influence of electronic devices and headphones.

So I envisage a future where humans will have deformed ears and hearing loss from wearing different types of headphones. In the future humans will need multiple ears to perceive sound.

Evolved ears

Medium:

Brass, silicone, resin, motor

Size:

12.3*18*19.2cm

Waist arm

Under the influence of the recent years' COVID, keeping social distance has become mandatory

With the excessive use of electronic devices, people are more likely to live in a virtual world. There is a growing fear of offline social interaction, and people are deliberately keeping their distance in public and are not willing to come into contact with others physically. In the future, people will have arms that can be extended and folded from the waist to keep social distance.