The Vine Arm was created for the model and body confidence advocate Kelly Knox. Born without her lower left arm, Kelly chooses not to use prosthetics as an aid, but as an accessory to express her personality and explore aspects of her identity.
The Vine Arm was a collaborative design by Sophie de Oliveira Barata, Dani Clode, Jason Taylor and Hugo Elias. Sophie is the founder of theAlternative Limb Project.
The Vine Arm or Prosthetic Arm in the shape a vine worn by model Kelly Knox and created by the Alternative Limb Project, Sophie de Oliveira Barata, 2017. Museum reference T.2018.1.Credit: Omkaar Kotedia
What is the Alternative Limb Project?
Sophie de Oliveira Barata creates prosthetic limbs which are highly stylised art pieces. She seeks to create prosthetics which embody the wearer’s personality and represent their interests.
Sophie originally began making hyper-realistic prosthetics, until an eight-year-old client became the inspiration for the Alternative Limb Project. Her client wanted images of her favourite cartoon characters on her prosthetic and Sophie happily obliged. Since then she has created prosthetics inspired by everything from disco balls to video games.
Wearing these pieces helps redefine beauty and changes the image society sees when they think of disability.
Kelly Knox
Designing the Vine Arm
To create this bespoke piece, Sophie asked Kelly to create a mood board to get an idea of some of the things which inspired her.
Kelly's Pinterest mood board of inspiration.
Kelly hoped the piece would help to reinterpret the idea of prosthetics and disability.
I want to change the way society perceives disability, showing disability can be cool, fashionable, beautiful and powerful… it’s like my body is a canvas and when wearing an Alternative Limb, I become art.
Kelly Knox
The Vine Arm or Prosthetic Arm in the shape a vine worn by model Kelly Knox and created by the Alternative Limb Project, Sophie de Oliveira Barata, 2017. Museum reference T.2018.1.Credit: Omkaar Kotedia
The Vine Arm's Technology
The completed piece, the Vine Arm, is a botanical tentacle which contains 26 individual vertebrae that allow movement in the arm to be fluid and curve around objects. The Vine Arm is controlled by round sensors in Kelly’s shoes, which sit under her big toes. These sensors allow the Vine Arm to move side to side and to curve. By pressing on the sensors with different pressure, Kelly can control the speed and direction of the Vine Arm's movement.
The mechanical engineering was designed by Dani Clode, 3-D modelling by Jason Taylor and electronic engineering by Hugo Elias.
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