Designer Iga Weglinska uses 3D printed masks to explore sensory substitution
The six-piece wearable series examines how the brain compensates when restricted access to one sense amplifies another
The release of designer Iga Węglińska’s “Perfect Sense” has incorporated 3D printing, with the production of a series of six wearable object masks that investigate sensory substitution – the neurological phenomenon in which the brain compensates for reduced access to one sense by intensifying others.
The project examined how perceptual hierarchies shift when sensory input is constrained, drawing on two related concepts: semantic coupling, in which changes in one sensory perception alter the interpretation of stimuli from another; and iconic coupling, in which stimulation in one modality evokes a response in a separate one.
Węglińska drew inspiration from 17th-century Venetian Moretta masks, which wearers historically held in place by biting a concealed button, preventing speech and compelling non-verbal communication. That precedent of enforced restriction and behavioral adaptation informed the conceptual framework of the series.
VR, digital fabrication, and 3D printing
Węglińska developed the masks using reverse-engineering techniques and modeled designs directly in virtual reality onto a three-dimensional head form.
The resulting structures were produced through 3D printing, which generated both the internal components and the casting molds. Each mask consisted of embedded structural elements — described as internal “bones” — encased in silicone artificial skin. The silicone was tinted in human skin tones and incorporated microplastic fibers referencing vascular networks beneath the skin surface.
Węglińska uses 3D printing regularly in her innovative and groundbreaking work. Recent projects have included an open-source design series, which included a 3D printable ring, shoes, and a “glowing” sweater, and a conceptual shoe range incorporating 3D scanning and printing techniques.
