

THE UNSEEN visualizes brain activity with color changing swarovski crystal headpiece

all images THE UNSEEN



at the intersection between science fiction, fashion and design, arrives a color-changing wearable technology concept from the labs of THE UNSEEN, run by london-based artist lauren bowker and her material exploration team. developed in close collaboration with swarovski, the experimental head-piece brings together a collection of over 4000 black lab grown spinel stones paired with the studio’s ‘magick’ color-changing ink, exemplifying an understanding regarding the hidden properties of the imperfect crystal. specifically chosen and cloned for their material composition, the jewels boast similar characteristics to that found in the human bone.

‘this parallel makes the gemstone compatible with the human, enabling each stone when worn to act as a conduction insulator, absorbing energy loss from the head,’ says bowker. ‘we discovered the pattern formation in the color of each stones evolves throughout the day; this fluctuates over areas of the brain in use. when worn the headpiece becomes a reflection of the inner human thought,’ she adds.

the unseen ‘magick’ essentially enables the spinel to visualize this energy loss with a color changing gradient – through black to orange, red to green and blue to purple. similar to her previous project ‘air’, the analog wearable tech pieces provides as glimpse into the bespoke relationship between new nano technologies and the world of material science.



the head-piece is crafted from lab grown swarovski spinel stones, enhanced with ‘magick’ color-changing ink