Worry Ring

Worry Ring is the fourth object in Holding Pattern and shifts the collection’s exploration inward. Here, orientation is no longer mutual, but collapsed toward the self. Holding becomes habitual rather than relational, sustained through repetition rather than proximity.

Drawing on the gesture of worrying – repetitive, grounding action performed without conscious intent – the ring translates orientation into nervous ritual. Touch functions as an anchor within disorientation, offering temporary containment while revealing repetition as both stabilizing and compulsive.

The ring is formed from a slim silver band with alternating polished granulations set along its circumference. Designed to be twisted, rotated, and continuously handled, it guides the body into repetitive touch. The interior and exterior are hand-textured to a skin-like surface – a continuous bodily field. They contrast the polished granulations, which function as nodes of contact – points the body repeatedly seeks out. As Worry Ring is worn and used, these points remain polished – a visual record of compulsion, return, and erosion.

Within Holding Pattern, Worry Ring marks the moment after encounter, where orientation can no longer be sustained through relation and instead turns inward. Orientation persists through repetition and habitual touch – not as intention but as reflex – a gesture the body returns to when direction cannot be named. Where Galatea externalizes orientation through another body, Worry Ring internalizes it – offering touch as a quiet, compulsive point of return. Holding here is not relational or devotional, but procedural: the bodily labour of sustaining orientation through touch, habit, and compulsion.