While much of the contemporary jewellery in the exhibition explores ways to soften the 'digitalness' of objects made with AM technology, these four rings take a different approach. With the Glitch rings, I wanted to explore what a truly digital contemporary jewellery piece could look like. In the same way that I was exploring the imperfection of natural materials and hand-made objects, these rings investigate the aesthetic and conceptual potential of digital imperfection.

At this point in the making of pieces for this exhibition, I had already experienced various errors in the 3D printing of my pieces. Some were due to factors I did not consider in the CAD design stage of the manufacturing process, and others were due to breakages and misprints, mostly because I was working at the limits of what the SLS 3D printing process could do. In most instances, I could alter the original design to rectify my mistake or to make it more robust for 3D printing.

The Glitch rings are three pieces in this collection that represent my exploration of a distinctly digital aesthetic. The rings are made up of layers, a clear reference to the layer-by-layer 3D printing process. The contour lines created by the 3D printing process on curved surfaces is an aesthetic that has become ubiquitous of 3D printed objects.

Glitch ring I depicts a uniquely digital phenomenon, namely the sudden jumping and pixelated colour distortion of a video image. The aesthetic of the ring invokes a feeling that resonates with users of technology today, namely the feeling of frustration experienced during an incident when early video technology failed to function as expected. Glitch ring II explores the instability of some 3D printing materials. Heat is used to fuse the layers of thermoplastic materials, and if the finished print is exposed to excessive heat, it can warp and bend. Glitch ring III depicts a common error of the 3D printing process, in which layers that are not properly fused delaminate after printing.