Single Women’s eCrowns

E-crafts project with Ramyah Gowrishankar
SERDE, Latvia / 2012

In summer 2012 Ramyah and me stayed at a residency at the Interdisciplinary art group SERDE in Aizpute. We explored Latvian crowns (vainags), which are worn by unmarried women as a part of their national costumes. In order to boost the chances of finding a marital partner, we made two eCrowns in which electronic components are embedded in the traditional patterns.

One of the eCrowns, the Sirius Crown,  senses potential partner candidates with an ultrasonic distance sensor. This triggers friendly or hostile sound and light effects according to the mood selected by the crown’s wearer. The other eCrown is called Dancing Crown and it blinks lights with its wearer’s movements, inspired by Latvian folk dances. This is handy for standing better out on a dark dance floor.

In summer 2012 Ramyah and me stayed at a residency at the Interdisciplinary art group SERDE in Aizpute. We explored Latvian crowns (vainags), which are worn by unmarried women as a part of their national costumes. In order to boost the chances of finding a marital partner, we made two eCrowns in which electronic components are embedded in the traditional patterns.

One of the eCrowns, the Sirius Crown,  senses potential partner candidates with an ultrasonic distance sensor. This triggers friendly or hostile sound and light effects according to the mood selected by the crown’s wearer. The other eCrown is called Dancing Crown and it blinks lights with its wearer’s movements, inspired by Latvian folk dances. This is handy for standing better out on a dark dance floor.