Erin McLean

‘Intergalactic Perception’ is designed to invoke fun, and light-heartedness using shapes and colour and explores my interest in the science fiction movie genre.

Taking inspiration from the buttons, lights and screens on spaceship control panels together with neon lights in cities on distant planets, this allowed me to discover interesting patterns. Simultaneously examining our own technology, notably in circuit boards.

Using coloured acrylic to mimic the neon lights and incorporating circuit boards to represent technology, allowed me to express my feelings of escaping into alternative worlds.  Using Adobe Illustrator to create digital designs for both laser cutting and etching, allowed me to translate my ideas into physical forms. The addition of custom-made printed circuit boards was achieved using KiCad software, resulting in authentic looking technology to be incorporated into my pieces.

Inspiration was gained from observing the precise edges achieved from the laser cutting process which emulates the structured lines found in technology.  The overlapping nature of my pieces represents the interlocking attributes of the genre, and explores complex connections found in modern technology.

This collection invites the feeling of travelling to other galaxies and expanding your horizons, or could be worn by a character in a science fiction story.

Efflorescent Medley

Efflorescent Medley is a fine jewellery collection consisting of a variety of pieces, these include necklaces, brooches, earrings and rings. The concept and design for these pieces of jewellery was made by taking inspiration from the science fiction movie genre, specifically analysing characters and scenes from across the Star Wars movies. Pairing this with nature, with focus on floral shapes, flowing lines and natural shapes.

I have designed a jewellery collection that incorporates the look of natural elements, referencing this to the other worldly planets with unique plant life that many people overlook when thinking about the science fiction genre.
Traditionally when people think about science fiction, they usually focus on the futuristic technology, spaceships and robots. Planets with large cities and only buildings spanning almost the whole planet are common features of these movies, showing distant futures and alien civilisations. However, what I wanted to create was a collection that intertwines both plant life with organic shapes and the visual representations of technology.

While creating these jewellery pieces these floral shapes come from the mechanical and technological components found throughout the film franchise, I took robotic Star Wars characters as well as scene stills from the movies which have an industrial futuristic look to them mainly incorporated into spaceship designs. I looked at the work by Mikiko Minewaki who makes jewellery out of different toys and some of her designs have a floral and manufactured look.

After choosing my inspirational images I proceeded to identify specific shapes and parts of the design that felt intriguing and that I could see the developmental potential for designs. I traced these shapes and digitally manipulated them to experiment and form complex patterns, which in turn allowed me to visualise them as jewellery pieces.

The main target audience for the pieces in this collection are fans of the sci-fi movie genre in addition to Star Wars fans, who want a subtle piece of jewellery inspired by aspects of the movies. This collection was created with the intention of displaying and selling in science fiction fan conventions or as part of a science fiction exhibition.