Inciting the Site of the Soul. Skin, touch and textiles in contemporary art.

Abstract

Inciting the Site of the Soul is practice-led research that investigates the tactility of textiles, the relationship of textiles to skin, and the role of touch in contemporary art. My aim has been to explore textiles as a tactile art medium, using them to create a body of work that arouses the sense of touch and entices people to touch it. This research is framed by Michel Serres's Les Cinq Sens (1985) in which he applies textile metaphors to expound a philosophy of the senses that conflates fabric with skin and suggests that skin is the site of the soul. It has also been influenced by ideas about the senses expressed in the late Gothic suite of tapestries La Dame a la Licorne (c. 1500). I have considered recent advances in neurobiology that emphasize the importance of skin to perception and the role of hair in the perceptual process and this knowledge influenced my decision to work principally with horsehair, a product of skin. I have used this fibre to amplify the metaphorical connections I have made between textiles and skin through the creation of horsehair fabrics with animalistic, highly textured topographies, a process advanced during field work with Swedish tapestry artist Annika Ekdahl. This methodology developed to further expand the potential of my work to evoke touch through the use of formal elements, contrasting materials such as bronze, methods of display and through experimentation with performance. My research contributes to the field of sensory studies and textile art practice and extends the use of the unique and little-used medium of horsehair. The final works for examination highlight that the inclusion of tactility and touch can create a deeper understanding of, and connection with, a work of art. They celebrate the tactility of textiles and the joy that is possible when one experiences art, and indeed life, through the sense of touch.