VIDEO: Sophie de Oliveira Barata : The Alternative Limb Project / KIKK Festival 2022 * 2023
VIDEO: Sophie de Oliveira Barata : The Alternative Limb Project / KIKK Festival 2022 * 2023

An artist trained in special effects prosthetics

Sophie de Oliveira Barata recognizes the creative, self-expressive possibilities that artificial limbs hold. After nearly a decade of working for medical prosthetic providers, Sophie founded the Alternative Limb Project in 2011. Her studio offers a bespoke service to amputees that either allows their prostheses to blend in with their bodies, or stand out as unique pieces of art that reflects the wearer’s imagination, personality, and interests. Some of Sophie’s out-of-the-box creations include a leg with an embedded stereo, another with removable muscles, and a third that houses mini-drawers.

Sophie’s creations explore themes of body image, modification, evolution and transhumanism, whilst promoting positive conversations around disability and celebrating body diversity. Drawing on her own specialist skills in making ultra realistic looking limbs. Clients have included Paralympic athletes, musicians, models, performing artists and video game companies. The Alternative Limb Project is always on the look out for future collaborators and ways of engaging new audiences. 

Share

Sophie de Oliveira Barata, prosthetics artist and founded The Alternative Limb Project in 2011

Sophie de Oliveira is taking the idea further with a “gadget limbs”. In collaboration with tutors and students at the University of Hertfordshire, de Oliveira Barata builds designs that demonstrate how creative the limbs can be. “The best design is something that grabs your attention, but also has a function,” she explains in her north London studio. “Although some of them are bonkers.”

De Oliveira Barata, started working with prosthetics for amputees after graduating from the University of the Arts London in 2004 with a degree in hair, makeup, and prosthetics. Her job was to make lifelike skins out of rolled silicone to cover the artificial limb.

Among her clients are army veterans who want to show off their new limbs. “It’s like a badge of honour,” she says. “And if they can pimp it up, then all the better!”

Using the unique medium of prosthetics to create highly stylized wearable art pieces

Merging the latest technology with traditional crafts, The Alternative limb Project explore themes of body image, modification, evolution and transhumanism, whilst promoting positive conversations around disability and celebrating body diversity.

Drawing on her own specialist skills in making ultra realistic looking limbs, Sophie de Oliveira Barata collaborates with specialists in fields such as 3D modelling, electronics and cutting edge technology, and works in conjunction with in-house prosthetic Chris Parsons at Design Prosthetics.

Since its inception in 2011, changing attitudes to disability and promoting body diversity has been core to The Alternative Limb Project. As such, we have been honored to exhibit at various museums, art galleries and events around the world.

Sophie de Oliveira Barata says: ‘My clients choose how they want to complete their body.’

Creates both hyper-realistic and hyper-bizarre artificial limbs. Prostheses that are worn with pride. Her wearable artworks challenge stereotypes about living with a disability. Gives us a glimpse into her wildly creative process of designing imaginative, personalized prosthetics.

Sophie uses the unique medium of prosthetics to create highly stylized wearable art pieces for performance and exhibition. Merging the latest technology with traditional crafts, Sophie’s creations explore themes of body image, modification, evolution and transhumanism, whilst promoting positive conversations around disability and celebrating body diversity.

 

Sophie de Oliveira Barata, create highly stylized wearable art piece prosthetics * Todo lo relacionado