Monstrous Vision is a project exploring wearable robotics and feminism through the development of a robotic eye garment. Learned through trial, error, and a lot of burnt-out servos, the work marked my first engagement with robotics, coding, and AI-driven interaction, and was exhibited as a public installation at London College of Fashion. The installation forced passers-by to negotiate their own gaze, often resulting in a playful yet tense 'staring contest' between the human and the machine.
This project examines the politics of looking through themes of gaze, embodiment, and gender-based violence. Observation and surveillance are often tools of power and oppression over the female body; I wanted to build a garment that looks back. Monstrous Vision is a wearable robotic eye garmentthat uses face-detection to track viewers in real-time. It’s not just a garment; it’s a confrontation. It turns the wearer from the subject of the gaze into the owner of it.
Computer Vision: Integrated OpenCV face-detection to trigger robotic movement.
Mechanical Design: Modelled custom enclosures and mechanisms in Fusion 360 and 3D printed the components to house the delicate servo-motor assembly within the garment.
Creative Coding: My first foray into Python and physical computing, moving from "Hello World" to a functional interactive system in 5 weeks.
Web Development: Built a custom web interface (The ‘Pervert Gallery’) to archive and display the captured 'surveillance' images, closing the loop between the physical confrontation and digital evidence.
World-Building: Directed and edited a retro-horror short film to contextualise the tech within a narrative universe.
Narrative as Prototype: Using the visual language of 1970s horror to explore the 'monstrous' power of a garment that watches back.
This project taught me that technology is never neutral. By co-opting AI, a tool often used in mass surveillance, to create a personal, protective 'monster,' I realised that the future of wearables isn't just about utility; it’s about agency and identity.
The Viewer as Data: The garment displayed at a public exhibition. The moment the installation identifies a spectator, the robotic eyes open and lock onto them, reversing the traditional power dynamic of the gaze.
The Pervert Gallery: A custom web interface designed to shame the surveyor. By automatically categorising and displaying captured spectators as ‘Peeping Toms’ and ‘Creeps’ the project uses web technology to flip the script on who is being watched.
Biological Mimicry: A look at the internal servo-motor assembly. I designed the mechanism to replicate the saccadic movements of a human eye for a more unsettling, lifelike interaction.