Dominic Wilcox is a British artist and designer who creates innovative objects, drawings and installations. In 2002, he graduated from Ron Arad’s renowned Design Products course at the Royal College of Art and has gone on to develop an international reputation for his diverse range of original and creative work. Through his drawings and objects he aims to place a spotlight on the banal; adding a new, surprising perspective on the everyday. Recent projects include the design of a pair of shoes with inbuilt GPS to guide the wearer home, a race against a 3D Printer at the V&A and a 10′′ vinyl record called Sounds of Making in East London.

A different side of wearables

There is something to be said about not taking wearables so seriously. Today, we perceive wearables as glossy gadgets from a science fiction novel, but Dominic Wilcox’s work reveals a different side. In many ways, his watch series is more art than it is wearable. He created tiny figures that fit onto the hands of the watch face but still allow them to move around as if they were walking. Instead of just having a single purpose, telling time, this watch attempts to tell us a story. With his GPS shoe, he incorporates an illustration about a daily journey on the base of the sole. These pieces tell their own story, and there is also something very personal and human about this approach. It brings the human element back into the object.

Out of our pockets, onto our selves

It is human nature that we feel protective of our bodies, and of ourselves. Technology is moving from our pockets and slowly making its way on to us. With innovations like E-Tattoos on the rise, technology may eventually live under our clothing or even be digestible at some point. This can be alarming for a lot of people and it continues to bring up privacy concerns so naturally, people may feel a little apprehensive about wearable technology.

This work, on the other hand, is very charming and poetic; it exists simply to delight us. It brings personality and humor to the wearable. It’s humorous and encourages us to not take technology so seriously that we forget there are all of these other endearing qualities that technology can offer. This approach can dissolve the reservations we have around technology because it is perceived as art. These are the kinds of solutions needed to help us take that leap into the new wearable world.