Arthritic Decay by Daniel Ryan Johnston (he/they)

Inspired by my own experiences with Psoriatic Arthritis, this sculpture visualizes the inflammation and pain caused by the arthritis while also depicting my fears of future damage from stress and diet.  As the inflatable continues to press against the embroidery stitches, the glue that gives the threads their structure weakens overtime.  

This work consists of two pieces; one wearable glove and one stationary sculpture.  For this exhibit, the glove is placed on a black molded form of my hand alongside the sculpture.  The glove consists of an outer layer made of black leather (not pictured) that conceals an inner layer made of purple neoprene, an Arduino IOT33, Neopixels and silver conductive fabric tape.  When worn, the glove sits roughly 3 inches below the wrist and extends down to just past the first set of knuckles, exposing the fingertips.  Stitched on top of each knuckle are gold beads (not pictured) that mark the underlying fabric buttons.  

The sculpture consists of an embroidered hand supported at the wrist by a 13in wooden rod  connected at the bottom to a white base (6in wide x 8in deep).  The hand sculpture is posed in a relaxed or limp position; delicately from the wrist.  Extending from the center of the wrist, as though an artery, is a clear silicone tubing running down the support and to the base of the sculpture.  The tube is connected to a micro-controller with several pneumatic valves (Programmable Air).  

The hand sculpture is made from pink flesh and bone colored threads originally machine stitched on water soluble fabric.  Using an x-ray overlaying a glove pattern, I stitched the bones of my hands and wrist into the fabric then filled in the rest with pink flesh colored threads.    The final embroidery thread hand sculpture encases an off white nitrile glove.   When activated by the wearable glove, Neopixel LEDs illuminate inside the glove in addition to the glove inflating when signaled.   

15in x 12in x 15in 

Materials : Wearable Glove - Leather, Neoprene, Polyester Mesh, Protoboard, Conductive Thread, Neopixels, Nano 33 IoT;  Embroidered Hand Inflatable - Nitrile gloves, Programmable Air, Wood, Silicone Tubing, Embroidery Thread, Neopixels, Nano 33 IoT 

2022

Credits and acknowledgments: This piece was developed as part of my graduate studies at NYU Interactive Telecommunications Program.  Specifically, Introduction to Soft Robotics with Kari Love and Connected Devices with Tom Igoe.  Additional support and guidance from Programmable Air creator, Amitabh Shrivastava.