"EMPATHY "// Dana Kuriel

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Empathy is a central component of human emotional intelligence, it is the way we understand what others experience, using senses and imagination.

Today, we communicate mainly through digital channels, without absorbing facial expressions, eye contact, tone of voice and touch. The lack of physical, sensory information significantly impairs the human ability to feel empathy, according to various studies.

In my final project I raise the question: What is the fate of empathy? Is it possible to develop empathic ability through multi-sensory and imaginative clothing by the meeting between matter, form, and body?

I chose to design a women's collection, "art to wear", which combines knits and fabrics from natural materials - cotton, metal, aluminum, porcelain, mohair, silk, linen, and synthetic materials - lurex, nylon, polyester. I made connections and connectors, sculpted three-dimensional biomorphic shapes and developed different textures to provide a rich sensory experience through the meeting between hard / soft and flexible, hot / cold, smooth / rough, transparent / opaque, movement and sound.

Through all of these I seek to evoke in the viewers and wearers an emotional response, to stimulate the imagination and the senses in the hope of increasing the ability to feel empathy for one another.

I created the shoes for the collection in collaboration with Tidhar zagagi @tidhar zagagi

danakuriel@gmail.com // danakuriel //+972547677795