The Light Touch of Lovers

Tomoko Hayashi works with a range of media including communications technologies, textile design and photography. ‘Mutsugoto’ is a curtained bed on which one can caress a distant lover with languid trails of light. It is designed to be installed in the bedrooms of two lovers who are parted by a great distance. They begin by lying on the bed, each wearing a special ring. As they relax and think about their partner far away, each gently moves their hand around their body. These movements are traced by a light beam on both the individual’s own body and that of their partner lying on the other, distant bed. Twinkling lights projected onto both bodies map where each partner is caressing. Where the strokes coincide, the lines react with each other, reflecting the lovers’ synchrony.

Scientific research has shown that, in such circumstances, it is possible for the partners to actually sense the touch of their lover, even though it is just light that moves across their body. In a process called ‘cross-modal perception’ the mind blends memories of a lover’s touch with the visual stimulus of the moving light in a way that activates the touch receptor circuits in the brain.

This work by Tomoko Hayashi will feature in an exhibition organised by Alasdair Foster (Sydney) for the PhotoVisa festival in Russia. The exhibition, ‘A Conversation of Memories’, will include work by artists from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Japan, Republic of Korea and USA. It opens on Thursday at Institute of Contemporary Art (КИСИ) in the city of Krasnodar.

Image: ? Tomoko Hayashi ‘Mutsugoto’ (Pillow Talk) 2007