Japanese Artist Mio I-zawa created a phone charger that resembles a human umbilical cord as a statement about the human attachment to technology.
The 'Umbilical Cord' charger, which is meant as a work of art and not for mass consumption features a life-like flesh of a human umbilical cord, which pulses when a phone is being charged. The chunky end of the 'body part' tends to contract and swell signifying breathing. Its cable is covered with a long latex, which is suppose to symbolize an artery to which the phone is connected like a fetus connected to a mother's womb.
The phone which is featured in in Discover Magazine's "10 Geeky Gifts Inspired by Science" Guide was created by Mio as parody to the predilection of people to become dependent to their iPhones. It epitomizes the increasing psychological and physical connection of people and phones. To some people, however, the ingenious charger is more like a spine-chilling organ in a horror movie or an eerie alien-like creature.
The one-off charger is sold for $6,000 and is apparently not available at the market.
According to PSFK, Mio I-zawa is a Japanese interactive media artist from Kamiina-gun, Nagano, Japan whose artistic penchant focuses on the link between human biology and technology. He earned his degree at Tama Art University and had since made his mark in the art world with his lifelike-organ technological devices. Among his major works included the "Mechanical Tumor" that vibrates according to the CPU utilization rate. He is also credited for the "Heart on a Leash", which beats simultaneously with that of a person attached to it. Another is the "elastic cell," composed of soft pulsating cells that reacts randomly to human touch.
Check out the video of the so-called umbilical cord charger here:
