Bracelet by Jen Liu for Pink Slime Caesar Shift: Electropore (2021)

This wearable sculpture is made of pink acrylic hand-cast around a gold-plated brass circuit with fine manual mechanisms for customized fit, skin contact points, and a connection port that can be retrofit to work with existing electronic grounding circuit boards.  This is connected to a gold-electroplated brass rotating bracelet mechanism with 3 adjustable settings at 2mm - distance for fine fit.  Embedded within this piece is also a brass capsule with genetically modified cow muscle cells containing synthetic DNA in two parts: first a section creating yellow fluorescent protein expression, then a lightly encrypted text listing 40 historically-proven methods of nonviolent protest from the Einstein Institute.

 This bracelet is a functional redesign of an anti-static bracelet, as worn by electronics factory workers. The bracelets, normally made of aluminum, plastic, and rubber or spandex polyester, electrically ground the workers, so they don't generate static shock, potentially frying the circuits of the products they are assembling. They also monitor the movements of the workers: the grounding stations the bracelets are plugged into often record when the workers step away from their work — on unauthorized bathroom breaks, for instance. This information can be used to reduce pay to the bare minimum of working time recorded, down to seconds.  

 The scale and look of the bracelets are designed as a tribute to female factory activists.  Inexpensive sources of everyday glamor characterize the look of these factory workers, femme fabulousness despite limited social and economic possibilities. They are small in size, due to the biopolitics of female factory work: women are selected to work on electronics due to their smaller bone structure, but there is nothing diminutive about them, as they sacrifice everything to ensure the rights of all workers. 

Gold Bracelet

Ed. of 6

-Size info: Small.  Dimensions:  1.5 x 3.25 x 2.25 inches (4 x 8.25 x 5.75 cm)