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The idea that one day we may have to water our jewlery seems like a strange one but it may proove to be the case if this next concept designer gets her way.
Xuedi Chen has created a range of jewelry concepts inspired by the fungal parasite cordyceps. Cordyceps work by attaching themselves to insects before taking control of their body and mind. The parasite, once in control of its new living home, forces the insect to climb very high before it it uses it's last remaining energy to cling to a leaf or branch.
Once the insect has dies the parasite then grows from within the insects body releasing it spores from a great vantage point thanks to the insect's final climb. Like much of what happens in nature, the process is both fascinating and gruesome and it seems, at least for Chen, inspirational.
That's because the artist has used the idea to create her own unique living jewelry. Using 3D technology Chen has developed a range of wearable structures that also contain living organisms - moss, plants, flowers.
The idea is that the user wears the structure while the living part, essentially the decorative piece in the Jewelry, slowly grows around the structure. It's an interesting idea and one that seems to work when you look at her latest designs - we don't recommend wearing it is you're scared of bees and wasps though.
