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EDC Project Award Proposal: Feeling Tingly?
“Feeling Tingly?” will be a multi-sensory installation that explores overconsumption by centering materials that reflect the pervasiveness of synthetic substances in contemporary life. This project will examine how everyday plastic waste can carry new meanings when encountered through unexpected sensory experiences. Inspired by ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response), the work invites viewers to explore the nuances of bodily sensation through hypnotic sounds, textures, and visuals designed to evoke “tingles”, a rush of dopamine through the body. Rather than imagining a return to a pristine or waste-free world, this work proposes alternative ways of being-with the waste and pollution we inherit, inviting viewers to reflect on their own consumer realities and relationship to pleasure through tactile, visual, and sensory encounters.
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13 Replies
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Absolutely love this. Especially the being-with the waste rather than a return to the pristine. Perhaps an antidote to toxicity is to first truly encounter it, on a multi-sensorial level. I recommend reading Heather Davis’ “Plastic Matter”, which goes deep into this very subject, and references artists who’ve worked with plastics and garbage intimately.
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YES! I’ve been very influenced by this book…so I think it’s time for a re-read! I like how she describes plastic as something that cannot be contained and is not separate from our world but rather embedded into it. My work revolves around this idea, trying to not separate the pollution from our lives but rather embrace it as a means to survival.
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Absolutely love this. Especially the being-with the trouble (plastic, garbage, waste) rather than a return to a pristine. Perhaps an antidote to toxicity is to first truly encounter it, on a multi-sensorial level. I highly recommend Heather Davis’ “Plastic Matter” which references artist working with garbage and plastic intimately.
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This! “Rather than imagining a return to a pristine or waste-free world, this work proposes alternative ways of being-with the waste and pollution we inherit.” Love it.
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Rachel always rooting for you to get funding and continue your work!
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I love the tactile experience of encountering the toxicity, which brings people in direct contact with the experience that we are not separate from the pollution we create.
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Exactly! I’m trying to reframe that encounter as something that’s pleasurable while still being confrontational. Our pollution can no longer be neatly hidden or discarded but instead seeps into our environments and our bodies. I’m considering what a symbiotic relationship with our synthetic waste would feel like.
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I’ve found inspiration in Lynda Benglis’ work, as she explores themes of pollution and lack of containment through her forms and material choices.
Benglis describes her work in her recent book published by Phaidon, “was interesting to me that these were toxic chemicals, because I was calling attention to the material itself. I was also interested in how common they were. These rubbers and latexes can be found in everything from the pillows we sleep on to the inner tubes of bicycle tyres. You always need the organic with the chemical; they remain constantly in motion. Things like that interested me – the fact that we were making all these things that are both natural and unnatural in order to function, in order to explore, in order for the world to work. I was interested in how to take these everyday materials and transform them into something else. And there was something political in this. I wanted it to draw attention to these realities.”
phaidon.com
The dangerous chemicals that could have killed Lynda Benglis
The sculptor Lynda Benglis started water-skiing aged 13; in our new book, she recalls skimming over the local rivers and lakes of southern Louisiana. “They were polluted with oil slicks,” she says. Both those landscapes and that pollution remained with … Continue reading
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I’ve always been very inspired by the work of Judith Scott after seeing her work at the American Visionary Art Museum years ago. Her work has a strong presence, as the objects, she’s woven together tell a story about her life. Scott’s way of working was also a way of communication with the world as she was non-verbal. I could stare at her work and always find something new, hidden beneath the surface. Scott was working with what she had available. The repetitive act of scavenging, collecting, weaving, cocooning and concealing objects is something I can relate to in my work. I feel that working with objects in this way allows me to process the world and transform the way we think about our everyday moments. Objects unite us as humans.
Here is a great article with so many images and information about Scott’s work and background. https://art21.org/read/biography-is-complicated/
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Oh I love Judith Scott’s work!! Wonderful inspo.
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My work will become fully realized as an installation at Goucher College, Bond Gallery, from April 17 through May 28, 2026. I’m working with slime as a central material, spilling from containers and entangling familiar plastic objects. I’m in the process of developing video elements that show hands excavating objects from viscous surfaces. (See attached a few images of works in progress)
In conjunction with the exhibition, I will be holding an artist talk and hands-on, slime making workshop on April 29 5:30-7 pm in the Hyman Forum at Goucher college. This event is open to the public and participants will be guided through the slime making process and encouraged to experiment with familiar, everyday materials like glue, shaving cream, and reused objects to create slime that activates the senses and invites play. The goal of this programming is to create an accessible entry point into play, sensory awareness, and our relationship to materials.
I’m open to any and all feedback as I finalized these pieces and the workshop idea.
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Congrats on having the Goucher show lined up!
You’ve been pursing these themes in your practice for awhile, but I think you’re continually mining new questions and possibilities from the broader inquiry. I really enjoyed looking through your references.
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You know, about a week ago, I heard a large juice jug rolling down my street and honestly, it really did sound like music to my ears. It was like a marching band was around the corner, or like I was transported back to see my African ancestors performing drumming.
I ended up taking the jug in my house and recycling it. However, I wondered the other day, if I had left it out there, who else may have also discovered such “tingles?”
Thanks for sharing your idea!
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