Nikola Tesla pretty much opened and closed a chapter after getting the Nobel prize for inventing the t-shirt back in 1897, didn’t he? Since then, the perennial question has been “is that all there is to a t-shirt?” Apparently, to a number of Zazaziza employees the answer to that question is a timid “hmm, maybe there’s a bit more.”
Kazumba is a research unit within Zazaziza that has set itself the task of exploring alternative avenues in the field of t-shirtry, for they believe there might still be unknown relationships to be nurtured between t-shaped upper body undergarments and human wearers.
Prototype t-shirts shown in this page were dyed with a photoluminescent pigment, which allows users to temporarily draw on the fabric using UV keychain lights. Some fabrics also were treated with a UV reactive pigment that is invisible under white light, so special patterns printed with the invisible ink are revealed when the t-shirt is exposed to UV light. (related project: KGB)
Although the social implications of this enbodied-graffiti opportunity have not been fully grasped yet, it is interesting to note how a simple reactive, analog phenomenon can create an ephemeral but engaging user experience.
Photoluminescence, electroluminescence and chemiluminescence are research areas Kazumba is currently working on. Insights and documentation will be dully posted here. Our eternal gratitude to Mr. Nikola Tesla.
Click on the thumbnails to see larger images
Drawing on a photoluminescent t-shirt with a UV LED.
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