Sensibles

Starting with research on how we enjoy and interact with art works based primarily on visual contact, my work questions and explores the plurality of experiencing touch. Tactility extends beyond the material despite the fact that it occurs on our skin. It is a mental happening that can be evoked by a memory, a visual or even a sound. The emphasis of this research is to present the haptic as an inseparable part of sensibility, rather than an isolated stimulation. By playing with materials and processes in objects that attract our touch, I'm exploring beyond the physical contact into this communication between our Haptic sense and the object as an experience

The Sensibles, is a body of work that is a result of a year long research in human perception and our sense of touch. 

Intrigued by the power and complexity of our tactile sense, this collection settled on exploring tactility as a potent source of beauty. The idea started as research into various ways of evoking tactility. What makes us touch something; how do we approach objects; what kind of beauty can we feel from our tactile sense; but mostly, how can we feel tactility without actually having a direct contact with the object? Mixing structures and material, processes with forms... my studio became a playground of experiments that will transform ordinary elements such as rice, saran wrap, steel wool and silk, into delicate light objects that invite direct contact... or simply evoke your imagination of their tactile properties.

With carefully applied processes, the stainless steel structure is altered into a soft crochet object that offers a gentle feel. The rice applied to the objects attached on a thin wire, follows your movements and tickles you when you move. Brooches and necklaces made of transparent silicone, with no mechanisms, decorate our body by directly sticking to our skin... giving us a feeling of being touch by someone else's skin. Endless number of stimulations are awaiting to be fully experienced...

My first presentation of this series of explorations was designed as an interactive event of floating jewelry and objects in order to enhance the experience. Imagine a space that is filled with 150 tactile works suspended on 150 floating helium balloons... All gracefully moving around, changing their position in a smooth unhurried motion. From the moment of entering the gallery, the visitor becomes aware of the active and participatory nature of the event rather than entering the gallery quietly ready to stand in front of a display, passively observing the artwork. No borders exist between us and the Sensibles that prevent us from touching them or coming near them. The space itself becomes alive. The beauty behind the Sensibles lies in the diverse way of Feeling them. Some visitors break the tie and allow themselves to fully engage, so they try them on. Others become a target for the Sensibles and are touched by them. The suspended works become the leaders in this action and they bring up another sensation in us.

As humans we interact with and learn about thousands of things on a daily basis, but with very little awareness of the fact that we rely mostly on our dominant sense of sight, while forgetting the information we perceive through touch and neglecting our tactile sense as crucial for human functioning at many different levels.