Rhian’s work exists at an intersection between material culture studies, medical anthropology and design. She develops socially engaged projects that question the materiality of our bodies; drawing parallels between skin and cloth, our bodies and dress to communicate personal experiences of disruption, modification and appearance.
Previous commissions have explored women’s lived experiences of cosmetic surgery, weight gain and loss, and reconstructive surgical interventions as treatment for breast cancer. These have been funded by The Wellcome Trust, Arts Council Wales, Arts Foundation, Leverhulme Trust, and presented at Nike Design Kitchen, The V&A and Maggie’s Cancer charity.
Rhian is currently co-director of Design studio OurOwnsKIN; a joint venture with concept development footwear designer, Liz Ciokajlo. They specialise in facilitating knowledge transfer across medical, material and design sectors during early phases of wearable product development. Clients and funders of OurOwnsKIN include Kings College London, Innovate UK, Knowledge Transfer Partnership and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
