HAPTIC is collaborative exploration of skin and body through photography and realised in fabric. Having skin and a body is one of the few experiences that every person has and will have, despite this we tend to feel so isolated in ourselves and our bodies. What if you could try on someone else’s skin? Would it feel more or less comfortable than your own? Would it feel repulsive or delectable?
I live in a body that doesn’t fit into the western societal ideal of what a body should look like, some people’s worst fear is to have a body like mine, and yet I am content with the body I have. We see such polarising opinions on peoples bodies in the media, why not start having a neutral conversation around bodies, we all have one and no body is inherently evil or good, they’re just bodies.
It was important to me that throughout the process of making this project that touch was at the forefront of my decision making. Even when working in collaboration with Leah McCarthy, who constructed the garments, we discussed what methods were not only best for her practice but how her interaction with the material aligned with the concept.
I often make works about body, I find my own skin an ever changing landscape to inspect and explore, there is beauty to be found in the vessel that i will inhabit until my last breath.