Juxtapose

We’ve always been taught not to stare; not to look at someone deeply because it might offend them; that if someone “different” catches our eye we have objectified them. This is the life of the viewer.

Alternatively, should we possess a birthmark, a glorious height, or unknown disability we risk being ostracized. This is the life of the viewed.

For both the viewer and viewed, there are harsh limitations – the viewer does not have time to see beyond appearances and the viewed risks only being seen as other.

Can a dynamic, safe space for both to truly look and experience each other exist?

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by Nya Rudek and Teresa Lourie

Jerron has been a dancer since he was 20 years old after being told he would never dance because of his left-side cerebral palsy. We created a wearable for Jerron that explores the idea of taking up space through an expanding shape because as a disabled dancer he has to make space for himself in a pro-abled world.

Our piece is a shoulder strap with folding pieces that can either lay flat against the body or stand up, symbolizing the way Jerron makes space for himself. The moving pieces are make out of laser cut plastic-like material called rowlux and attached to the shoulder strap with 3D printer parts that rotate on metal rods sewn into the strap. The pieces rotate against each other with a mechanism that uses a long slot in one piece and a fixed 3D printed part on the other piece that fits in and slides along the slot. The whole piece is actuated by a strap being pulled by Jerron while he moves during ON DISPLAY.

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By Rachel Siegel, Alexander Jin, Will Brown

Our project is a necklace and detachable armor that is inspired by Heidi's vulnerability and meditation practice during her performance. Heidi has no disability, however, she told us that her biggest insecurity is her age and that she believes vulnerability is beautiful. Additionally, Heidi described her meditation she practices while performing. Heidi's form of meditation involves acknowledging a thought and then releasing it. Will, Alex, and I combined Heidi's insecurities, belief, and meditation practice into one wearable. Our wearable is a vinyl chest piece with acrylic triangles. 10 of the triangles have the ability to attach and detach armor pieces. These pieces armor represent the shield people put up to protect themselves from being vulnerable, however, once you remove the armor all that is left is the necklace. Necklaces are typically viewed as beautiful, similarly, Heidi believes that vulnerability is beautiful.

By Flora Doremus, Ilan Barnoon, Mathew Paul

When we first talked to Krishna we were struck by a story she told us about helping a woman overcome her fear of coming back to dancing after an injury and how the women did not notice Krishna was blind until after the class. We really like that even though it was really hard for Krishna to adjust to being blind in daily life and as a dancer, she takes the time to help other people. We wanted to show this kindness she has and the people around her that support her to overcome her fears.

We created an arm piece that starts at her back and loops around to her arm. Originally we wanted to create a shield that she could use to 'protect' herself. The arm piece is made of different sized hexagons that are connected to a piece of fabric. To represent her support web, most of the hexagons have a pattern inside made of yarn that is wrapped around notches on the outer edges of each hexagon. We used yarn to incorporate Krishna's love for knitting. We hope that our piece communicates to the viewer the strength and bravery that Krishna has.

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In the studio we made a chest piece wearable designed for Michelle. Cerebral palsy is a disorder that relates to movement, muscle tone, and posture. It affects the muscle coordination within a body.  Michele expressed her feelings I would never being welcome to the table. When she said this, the The saying struck home for us. Also expressed her love for see life, and relating this to we came up with the idea of making a wearable representative of the coral reef. The coral reef represent the community. We love the fact that the reef expresses beauty and uniqueness. There are no two rooms that are the same. Please to ideals went directly into Michelle's wearable.

By Acacia Plesch, Ariana DeFranc, Ben Cohen, Grace Cassels

For this project, we designed a wearable sculpture for Jerron, a performer in the On Display exhibition. Inspired by his interest in hemispheres, the piece was intended to convey strength, ferocity, wholeness, and solidity.

We created a low-poly shoulder piece with movable flaps controlled by strings attached to the hand. As Jerron moved, the flaps would rise and fall, revealing his skin beneath. This interaction made his body—and particularly his skin tone—an intentional and essential part of the design.

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By Alana Press

Anita Hollander is an actress, singer, songwriter, director, and teacher who lost her leg to cancer. Anita will wear this sculpture during a 30-minute performance in a storefront in New York. The reason we made this sculpture is to show the viewer that Anita is whole and beautiful as she is and to challenge preconceived notions of disability. The idea behind our design is an abstraction of a mermaid which is inspired by one of Anita's songs, Mommy Is a Mermaid. This song is about addressing people's reactions to her disability when she is swimming with her daughter. Anita feels a strong connection to mermaids, so we knew we wanted to show this strength and beauty in our piece.

By Dylan Norris, Joseph Cybul

Our intention was to create a wearable sculpture that reflected Peter’s identity. Through several interviews, we learned about his love of nature, interest in conservation, and strong sense of community. Inspired by his description of himself as “a cog in a machine,” we explored the relationship between natural growth, mechanical movement, and collective participation.

The final design is a flexible chest piece with expandable vines based on the scissor mechanism of a Hoberman sphere. As Peter moves his arms, strings pull the vines outward, allowing them to expand and contract. Small 3D-printed connectors make the vines detachable, inviting audience members to add pieces and rearrange the structure. As the performance progresses, the wearable grows across Peter’s body, symbolizing nature, movement, and the power of community.

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by Chris Preller, Evy Dibble, Madeline Tallarico

Tiffany is a strong, feminine, and fiery woman whose unique personality inspired our wearable for On Display. When we first spoke with her, she shared how much she thrives in the sun and how energized she feels by warm, beautiful weather. This connection became the starting point for our design.

We initially focused on highlighting Tiffany’s legs, the part of her body she feels most confident about. As the project developed, however, we expanded the design to celebrate her entire presence. The final wearable creates a sun-ray effect through white fabric cones attached to a belt and back skirt. Each cone is supported by an inner plastic structure and moves up and down in response to Tiffany’s movements.

Through this wearable, we hope to express Tiffany’s vibrant, larger-than-life personality and show that she is capable of far more than others may expect.

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