We chose to focus on the breath and having our parasites rely on the breathing of the person. The only way the parasite would leave the body is if the person stops breathing.

Dani’s Design

I was interested in the idea of breath because it tied so easily into the actuation of the pneumatics. I felt that powering the parasite with the breath would be interesting to explore because breathing is essential to human survival, but then the idea that this parasite is also living because of it was a conundrum. My parasite inflates with the breath and slowly begins to get tighter around the person’s neck. As the person breaths more quickly the parasite inflates faster and begins to strangle them. I added some gold fabric to the end to show that sometimes you don’t always understand parasites for what they are initially because of their shiny exterior, but once you understand the harm they cause you, you can look past that.

Jesse’s Design

I was also drawn to a breath related parasite. I wanted to make something that curls up towards ones neck and face as it is inflated. On top of that, I wanted it to carry fabric with it as it moves up. This creates the illusion of safety on the wearer – as they breathe, they are protected by a piece of beautiful fabric. However, as it goes up, the wearer realizes that the parasite will soon hit them and inhibit their ability to see their surroundings, thereby weakening it.