New Project!?

We have started a new semester and that means a new class with new projects! This one is with a group of my fellow students Kyra, Scout, and Summer. Together we brainstormed a piece to create for an exhibition. We started our piece with the idea that we wanted it to be interactive and specifically touch related. The initial idea was to make one plush sculpture and focus on specifically touch starvation. We experimented with many different shapes that would involve the interaction with the viewer and which one would best suit our theme.

We also looked into how we would present our piece in an exhibition. Our favorite idea was interacting with the surrounding. The walls would be painted or covered in black to create a space that would make the plush seem isolated and lonely.

After getting some more opinions and talking more to our teacher we learned that we can incorporate electronics to add functions to the sculpture and decided to expand it beyond one piece and actually create 4, one for each of us. The theme shifted a little by becoming more than just a piece about loneliness but one about the different types of ways affection is accepted. We gave each person a plush based on their own personality and further planned our own piece individually.

The piece I am to make is based on affection craved in a physical way. So as to show this in the plush I designed it to be hugged. The material will be soft and squishy to be warm and inviting to the viewer. The electronic part of my piece will be the incorporation of a touch sensor LED light. The light will be red so when it goes through the white fabric it will appear more pink.

Scout's piece is the opposite to mine and is a plush that rejects touch. The electronic incorporation of this piece is utilizing LED lights and a shocking system to learn more about her piece check out her site here- https://ubiquitousdeer.wixsite.com/portfolio

Summer's piece is about a person that gives in a relationship. The interactive part of her piece is being able to touch and move parts of the piece. There's even a special puzzle piece that you can take from it and give to another one of the plushes. To learn more about this piece check out her site here- https://semisunniee.wixsite.com/summerhayes

Kyra's piece is connected to Summer's piece. The thing taken from her piece can be given to Kyra's and activate a special sound from the creature. This piece is reflective of someone who craves love from others. To learn more about her piece check out her site here-https://nootloop.wixsite.com/kyralmoe

One of the things that I really like about this piece is how most people can relate to it in one way or another. At one point everyone has felt the need for love and touch or felt they gave too much and wanted to be isolated. Our piece in a way is a sort of therapy and can be very powerful towards the viewer. I feel like our piece has a very real connection to this field, especially with the newly advancing art therapy. Art is another way to reach into someone's mind to understand more about that person and I hope our piece will be able to deeply connect with people in a unique way.

Another artist that makes similar exhibitions is Jun Young in their installation Never Gone are the Secrets the exhibit is about the harm of secrets and then the remedy for them in the form of interactive sculptures.