Félicia Kocher MFA

"This thesis investigates how different modes of perception shape human relationships with the self, others, and the natural world. It begins from the premise that perception is fundamentally embodied: through multisensory experience, bodily movement, and direct engagement with the environment, humans develop a sense of presence, connection, and belonging. The research then examines how the increasing dominance of rational, abstract, and measurable forms of understanding has contributed to a growing distance between humans and their immediate surroundings.

Building on this perspective, the thesis explores how contemporary technologies, particularly smartphones, social media, and artificial intelligence, intensify the fragmentation of attention and experience. While digital technologies expand communication and access to information, their constant availability, algorithmic mediation, and emphasis on visual and quantifiable forms of interaction can weaken embodied presence and redirect fundamental human needs for recognition, belonging, and connection into virtual environments.

Against this background, the thesis proposes jewellery as a material and embodied counterpoint to digital disembodiment. Worn directly on the body, jewellery engages touch, weight, temperature, movement, memory, identity, and social interaction. Its material presence can therefore strengthen bodily awareness and create opportunities for personal and relational connection. The thesis argues for a conscious balance between cognition and embodiment, digital connectivity and physical presence, and global awareness and local experience. Jewellery is ultimately understood as one possible pathway toward a more grounded and connected way of experiencing the world."

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