My inspiration for the Hemi-Spheres project stems from reading about the research of neuroscientist Ian McGilchrist. He speaks of how our culture is affected by the way in which our brains have evolved and function. The two sides have evolved to work in tandem as two balanced and complementary parts of one process. The right side perceives context (the inbetween-ness of things) and is outward looking as if through a sphere coming into focus. The left side abstracts and takes things out of context. It is inward looking and operates in a linear fashion.

For example, our early ancestors had to keep a wary eye out for predators while hunting and this sense of connection in a wider context happens in the right. If a threat was observed the details were passed over to the left for analysis. The left took the threat out of context, broke it down, and then handed it back to the right to develop an appropriate response within context. In contemporary Western society the left has become so empowered by its own self-referential logic that it sees no reason to hand it back. We have even begun to lose some of the workings of the right, one of which is empathy.

The resulting Hemi-Spheres project features rings with quite distinct left and right sides, each of which is hand-shaped from natural materials which were carefully selected for their specific qualities and the benefits they may impart to the wearer.

"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."  – Victor Frankl.