Illuminated Hat by Aleksandra Ana Bukovic
I’m very happy to present you the LED based work by young student from Rijeka’s Art Academy – Aleksandra Ana Bukovic. Luckily, I’ve stumbled on Aleksandra’s work while browsing through the photographs of all events from the Science Festival, held during April in several cities throughout Croatia.
While attending the course on industrial design (jewellery design), Aleksandra participated in the jewellery exhibition and show which was held as a part of The Science Festival in Rijeka (the topic of the festival was light) under the mentorship of the professor Nenad Roban (I blogged about him, too :)) and professor Lara Badurina. She presented a hat-shaped light installation for the body.
Illuminated Hat by Aleksandra Ana Bukovic (c)
Aleksandra explained to me via e-mail in details the concept of her work:
‘A hat is a clothing accessory which covers the head and it has been used since prehistoric age, mostly as a protection from heat and rain, but it has also had an aesthetic and hygienic function, and it has also been used to demonstrate one’s social status. In Ancient Rome a hat was considered to be a symbol of freedom and every man that was released from slavery was given a hat.
Illuminated Hat by Aleksandra Ana Bukovic (c)
During the 14th century the hat takes forms that are recognizable today, while the Renaissance’s profusion of materials and shapes promoted the habit of wearing a hat. After a short revolutionary period which imposed return to simplicity, the hat fashion of the 19th century brought moderation for men, but extravagance and bizarre models for women. Up until 1960’s, the hat was almost a compulsory fashion accessory for both men and women, but since then it has been rarely worn, mostly as a part of a more elegant
outfits or as a protection from the weather.
As a fashion accessory, the hat is greatly exposed to the vagaries of fashion.
Illuminated Hat by Aleksandra Ana Bukovic (c)
The hat installation is made of black tulle which from the head continues down as a veil, and is wrapped around the neck. Two led lamps are placed underneath the tulle and they can optionally be turned on or off… The choice of lamps’ position was not made at random. The first is placed on the head and the second on the heart which symbolizes woman’s rational and emotional side. The led lamps make those sides illuminated and sparkling and the light perfectly explains the function of the lamps within the hat.
Illuminated Hat by Aleksandra Ana Bukovic (c)
The hat in the form of a light installation presents a reaction to the hat’s historical role as a protection from the sun or its function as a mere decoration. The fact that the installation is reminiscent of a veil and that it is black points to the issue of woman’s role and can therefore be related to contemporary society and its perception of a woman as a doll which is expected to beautify and decorate herself…
Illuminated Hat by Aleksandra Ana Bukovic (c)
Photo by The Science Festival (c)
This hat does not aim to accentuate one’s social status or to be extravagant. It is simply an honest reaction of a woman which is wrapped in a black veil within the cold society, where emotional and spiritual state is displayed by turning on and off certain reaction sets, clicking buttons, etc…’
Aleksandra Ana Bukovic is…
– a fourth year student at the Academy of Applied Arts, University of Rijeka
– study programme: art pedagogy, department of sculpture
– other interests: theatre design & scenography, the art of costume design, fashion in general, industrial design (jewellery design) and photography.
p.s. Thanks a lot to Aleksandra Ana for providing all materials (visuals and text) necessarily for this blog post on Body Pixel and I we wish her a lot of success in the future!