2002

touch activated computer animation

Touch is a series of touch-activated computer animations. The animations take the viewer through an experience of healing and injuring human skin in which they have no control over which is to occur. The experience is one of anticipation and apprehension as well as satisfaction and revulsion. The order and manner in which these are perceived, however, depends on the experiences that the viewer brings to the work. The piece presents issues of agency and expectation with the body as a site for exploring our own desires.

Reviews:

"...One of the most memorable of her works, however, was "Touch," a touch screen filled with an image of pinkish skin. When viewers responded to a small sign urging them to tap the monitor lightly, a rosy blemish appeared, though not necessarily in the same place on the screen that had been tapped. When one touched the soft surface again, a few more red circles appeared on the pale epidermis, suggesting an outbreak of measles, chicken pox or shingles. Sometimes, as well, a touch could make a blemish disappear. The cause-and-effect reactions were an addictive, if incredibly creepy, meditation on the concept of touch, disease and healing..." (Helfand, SF Gate, 2002)

Special Thanks to Reuben Lorch-Miller