did they meet

The installation “did they meet” was part of the one-week-long short-term project “Poetic Interfaces” at the HTW Berlin by Alexander Müller-Rakow and Rahel Flechtner .

The object is a freestanding black box with two holes on the sides, on top of a waist-high stand. Close to it, you can find black rubber gloves in a hanger. Which signals to the viewer to reach into the box

In the poetic interface, the sense of touch and sight are stimulated. Above all, however, the installation plays with the question of what perception can be achieved in the viewer, when the two sensory impressions are not coupled with one another like the viewer is used to know. To alter the feeling, a black box is used to make a connection to the psychological meaning of black box. The two holes on both sides add another level of encounter through the hands of another person.

The viewers only see on the screen an alienated version of what they feel in the black box. Our interface thus creates a new aesthetic level of perception that contrasts with the haptic experience. The decoupling of the visual and the sense of touch creates a poetic quality of the experience and opens up a new level of perception for the recipient.

The project was developed and designed by:

• _Marina Engelhardt
• _Nora Schiller
• _Leon Volbers