Nominee Threshold Award Commercial Practices
Meet Noa van der Burg! Noa was nominated for the 2021 Threshold Award Commercial Practices with her graduation project ‘Mind Sense’. In this interview, Noa tells us about her work and future plans.
Can you tell us a bit about your graduation project and how it came about?
My project is called Mind Sense and it first started during the minor I followed, named New Earth (Social Practices). The minor taught me to look at the world around me in a more critical way. I started researching post capitalism and noticed how unnatural our current way of living actually is. We are not in touch with our bodies and their natural occurrences anymore, and that is something I wanted to address.
This led me to design a series of jewelry that helps its wearer understand the relationship between their body and mind. The series consists of two pieces, both made out of clay. One of the pieces is called Soothe, and is worn on the shoulders. It is modelled directly on the body. This piece is designed to counteract tightness in the shoulders caused by stress. Because this piece is very heavy, you can use them as a sort of restrictive instrument that reminds you to take more time for yourself when you feel overwhelmed. The other piece, called Stimuli, is worn on the upper abdomen. This is where the vagus nerve is located, which is the tenth cranial nerve that lowers your heart rate when stimulated. This piece is very rough and textured in order to provide that stimulation. The effect is similar to the calming feeling of hugging a pillow really tightly while watching a scary movie.
So both of the pieces address a physical reaction to the feeling of stress, anxiety and fear. They ask attention for the signals your body gives you when there is something important happening in your mind.
Which themes or societal concerns are you addressing in your work, and how?
At the core of the project, as I mentioned before, is the capitalistic way of living and the rushed, busy culture we created. We are constantly asking more of our bodies, and I believe this is an unnatural way of living. I read the book Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, in which Harari writes about how humans are not built for the work routine we force upon ourselves. I believe we do not notice the subtle signs of our own bodies anymore, which is quite disturbing when you think about it. The pieces plead for a more mindful, buddhist-inspired and natural way of living.
What will you be working on in the near future? What are your next steps?
I feel like I am not done with this project yet. The topic really fascinates me. For now, I tested the jewelry on a group of six people, and I would love to take the project to the next level and reach a larger audience. I would love to experiment with materials that were not available to me before, such as synthetics and rubber. And of course, it would be amazing to show the work to a larger audience through an exhibition or experience. I also started freelancing and am really starting up my career after the Academy!
To read more about Noa’s work, pay a visit to her Graduation Catalogue Page. Furthermore, her journey can be followed on Instagram and her Website. The winners of the Threshold Award Commercial Practices will be announced during a festive ceremony as part of the Graduation Show. Keep an eye on our Graduation Show page for more information.
