Feeling Into

Leah Minsky (2023)

This work was a two-week long interactive sculpture presenting artifacts from a fantastical world of highly sensitive entities. Consisting of glowing gelatinous bodies of various shapes and sizes, the piece came together to create an otherworldly moving form. The smaller sculptural components sat on top of a larger organic piece, appearing as if they were growing out of its center. They were to act almost like portals, activating the “tactile memory” and momentarily transporting the person to a place where they could fully feel into whatever visceral or sensual response arose. The installation slowly broke apart and shriveled over the course of a few days before being replaced by exact replicants to then undergo the same process. This decay and the effects of the audience’s touch rendered the imprint of time and human interaction entirely tangible.

Some of the questions guiding this work and my creative practice are as follows:
What does safety feel like?
When no one is watching, what do you do?
How can I bring people into a place where they feel accepted, safe and free to express themselves and their desires?
By making vulnerable objects – objects that are willing to be seen, to be strange and soft, tender and playful – I hope to illuminate that in this world too, you can be all of these things.

This project was made possible by the Frank-Ratchye Further Fund Grant #2023-032. Additional images here.