Felt Connection — sensation carried between bodies

Crafted to be felt

Each piece is made by working sensing, actuating and connected electronics into soft bodily forms. The making turns what the technology can do into something the body can feel and activate, through weight, balance, texture and warmth that meet the hand, each answering as you handle it. The pieces draw on an accessory tradition, where things are made to be worn, carried and held. Yet the artefacts shown here hold an ambiguity about what they are, and what they could be. That openness is an invitation. Set out to discover what the pieces do, follow their tactility and the sensory world they open, and find your own interpretations and meaning in them.

The encounter

Connected artefacts, and a sensation felt in a single body and between bodies. Take up a piece and something stirs, unhurried, as though it had felt you. You cannot quite tell what will return, or when. What you did with your hands returns changed. For a moment you are held in it, alone or together. It is thoughtful and asks to be met in person.

The making

Behind the pieces is a method of merging tangible and digital craft to create connected technology through tactile materials. This grows from a long background in accessory design, where material is shaped slowly and by feel. The same working is brought to sensing and connection, so the technology can be handled and felt. As the maker, I am present throughout the exhibition, so you can experience the pieces with me and reflect on the artwork.