APPENDIX, 2011, by BELOFF

The Appendix is a networked tail designed for a human. It is one of the works in the large body of wearable technology art works created by Laura Beloff during the years 2003-2011. These works investigate the human, the future and the relation between body and technology, as well as it draws from prevalent ideas in science.

Conventionally the appendix-organ in humans has been regarded as a potentially troublesome, redundant organ without any beneficial factors. However currently some scientists believe that appendix is a place for good bacteria to localize in as a reserve in case of sudden disorder caused by malevolent bacteria. This function is nevertheless still under debate, due to the fact that humans who have their appendix removed appear to carry on without problems.
The artwork Appendix is a constructed technological organ for a human body; a robotic tail. Its functional objective is purposely left open, similarly as the function of appendix-organ is not fully comprehended.
In the core of the Appendix is the relation between body and technology and human to his/her surrounding world, which is increasingly based on technological features and connections. Although the structure of the work is based on technology, it nevertheless does not answer to our typical expectations about technology’s functionality or to assumptions about technology being merely means for achieving certain aims. Rather this work researches the potential of technology to become a part of human’s emotional and intuitive existence and identity in a networked world.  
Currently many of our relations are based on contemporary network-technology, as well as technology’s presence has become an important component of these relations. The Appendix focuses on the situation where a (human) body part -a technological appendix- continuously exists within a hybrid space combined of a technological network and a physical world.
Parallel to its physical existence the Appendix forms a kind of an invisible “tail” of various connections/network, which we all carry along and which significantly define our contemporary identity. The work Appendix makes visible our dependency and connectedness to other people, things, nature and to various systems. It anticipates that many of the connections to various human and non-human entities will be increasingly (re)constructed via technology in the future.
           
The Appendix is constructed as a robotic tail, which is connected to a network. While in use the Appendix-tail becomes a (new) body-part of a wearer; a technological limb which movement is controlled by several networked systems containing both; humans and non-humans.
The current version of the Appendix-tail is connected to:
- Connection to nature phenomenon; the tail is receiving real-time data of the wave height of the sea, which is seen on the tail as an upward movement.
- Connection to a system; the tail is following real-time data of a city public transport system and signals with a specific gesture the current/real-time direction of a tram.