Variant

Variant is a narrative pendant on the lesser-known cause of Rare Disease Awareness. I am a caretaker for important people in my life, who live with rare diseases. I hand crafted this pendant using copper that was cut in three layers and pieced together using rivets.  Rare Disease Awareness Day is on February 29, and if it is not a leap year then it takes place the last day of February. It is celebrated world-wide, however, it is rare to find any public awareness on it.  The symbol for Rare Disease Awareness is the zebra striped ribbon. Most rare diseases are caused by genetic mutations, so for the first layer (background) of the pendant I created a representation of a DNA sequence in a circular form. The second layer (middle) I am representing the cell with the nucleus and chromosomes inside it. The top layer (front) is a zebra since the zebra’s stripes are related to the cause.  Zebra stripes have puzzled scientists for decades, but what is known is that each zebra has unique stripes and are used as identifiers with each other. No two are the same, which relates to the cause that no two people living with rare diseases are the same. The three layers combined build on each other to represent the story of a person whose DNA has been altered with a rare disease and hopefully will help spread more awareness to the lack of research, funding, and lack of treatment for people living with rare diseases.