Touch Me
I made a white light box using 20 traditional light bulbs that each represent a dot of Braille. The use of light bulbs renders the decoding of the work, through tactile interaction, difficult and risky due to the heat that spreads. Most viewers not possessing the tools to decode the meaning of the work can only experience the created brightness, which aggresses the eye and requires time to adjust. Thus troubling the senses and reinforcing the frustration and ambiguity of this piece: the person who can see, can’t read it and the person who could read it, can’t touch it. Furthermore the message ironically spells out Touch Me, making it impossible for the viewer to actually follow these instructions and interact with the work. Though the sculpture is aesthetically pleasing and inviting at first glance, all viewers are in fact restrained from touching the artwork on display due to the possible threat of danger indicated by the yellow sign placed in front of the piece. This questions the accessibility of art within the art institution where the rules clearly dictate the spectators’ behaviour. I sought after this antagonism to let the viewer reflect on the difficulty to communicate in our society and the challenges we encounter with language and art.
Do Not Touch
This Braille painting, is another example of work which questions the accessibility of art within the art institution where the rules clearly dictate the spectators’ behaviour. I sought after this antagonism to let the viewer reflect on the difficulty to communicate in our society and the challenges we encounter with language and art.
Touché
A site-specific installation created with a curtain of tennis balls. The original function of the object is transformed into a sculpture hanging in space and each ball represents a dot of Braille. The phrase spells out ‘Touché, playing on the French and English language definition of the word. Contrary to ‘Touch Me’ the viewer can walk through the installation and has the possibility of interacting with the work by touching or moving the balls, if he chooses to bypass the traditional ‘do not touch art’ rule. It is only when the viewer reaches the top of the stairs that the whole Braille phrase can be captured. However it’s meaning is still inaccessible to most viewers, as they do not have the tools to decode it.