The VOOS Σάιμποργκ wearable sculpture is constructed from an authentic ox skull wrapped in hammered copper sheets and wire, mounted upon a hand-constructed skeleton of metal banding and aged 1970s family doilies, stained and weathered, integrated into a second-hand black velvet dress. To restore the missing forms of the skull and bring the animal back to life, original patterns were crafted for the anatomical cavities, reinstating its volume using copper sheets and copper wire. Densely embedded inside the hood, an array of collected heirlooms, objets trouvés, and mundane paraphernalia form a personal archive. Originally created for the ‘REWOVEN’ exhibition in Naxos, an initiative by Maria Polikreti, the piece draws directly from the island’s livestock traditions, pagan heritage, and material folklore. Operating as an additive prosthetic layer, the sculpture reframes heritage through a contemporary design praxeology: preservation is approached neither as an exercise in nostalgia nor as an idolization of a static relic. Instead, by physically stitching family memory with discarded paraphernalia, the piece materializes a fluid, cyborg entity where additions are essential for its survival. The structure operates within a regime of staged visibility, establishing an active spatial boundary that regulates the relationship between viewer and subject. Serving both to invite the external gaze and construct a protective refuge, it mediates between presence, spatial defense, and performative concealment. Shielded beneath the organic and inorganic structure, the wearer retains full performative agency – observing the observer while transforming the body into an inhabited vessel that continuously enriches cultural memory. This piece is 1/1 and handmade in our studio in Athens.
