Touch Me, To See Us [extended due to success]
In Giovanni Maisto Ferreira’s Touch Me, To See Us, consensual and loving touch surpasses digital connection and overcomes anxiety for physical contact. Inspired by the idea of the uterus as a primary safe haven, he/they awakens a multisensory world that reminds us how connected we are as human beings, and from there researches the importance and power of physical communication. Touch Me, To See Us is a personal exploration in the form of an exhibition with an accompanying programme, and is on show from 16 December 2022 to 19 March 2023.
Soft-opening: December 16. Through the soft-opening, Giovanni Maisto Ferreira offers the special opportunity to grow with the exhibition.
Grand opening: January 6. From this day on the exhibition is open in its full form.
Fingers that softly glide past each other, until the two pairs of hands hold still in determined entanglement.
An unexpected breeze of wind that blows the hairs on your arm right up. A voice that reminds you of a dream. A scent of days past.
The faint landing of an eyelash on a cheek. Somebody who notices it and blows it away. How pleasant a breath can be.
The evident, everyday display and innocent character of these images has taken a new form over time. The growing reliance on technology, the sensitive volume of the #MeToo-movement, and the coronavirus have all heavily influenced and changed our relationship with physical interaction. Everyday connection primarily happens through a screen: we no longer hold each other’s hands, we hold phones. Whilst touch – in the broadest sense of the term – is essential for good health.
What is needed to transform physical touch from a withdrawn movement to a pleasant and familiar act? What role does vulnerability play in this? And what can we learn from communities in which physical touch is a full-fledged part of life, and is even seen as essential to connecting with ourselves and others?
In short: How do we re-introduce our bodies back into our everyday lives?
From Giovanni’s experience of touch as a queer person, the exhibition will give new meaning to physical connection. It invites visitors to open themselves up to different forms of touching and being touched, by approaching the physical as a reciprocal and multisensory ritual. Touch Us, To See Us is a personal project, an investigation into intimacy and human contact, and an attempt to picture the world post-pandemic, post-#MeToo, and post-patriarchy. Touch Us, To See Us is vulnerable, and invites you to be vulnerable as well.
Installations
Giovanni Maisto Ferreira
Scenography
Vivian Huizenga
Perfumer & Fragrance formulator
Spyros Drosopoulos (Ph.D.)
Poster image
Tirza Mary
Maker Giovanni Maisto Ferreira gelooft dat consensuele aanraking een kwetsbare houding vergt, wat mogelijk de sleutel is tot de meest authentieke versie van onszelf. Verliezen we het vermogen tot aanraken, dan verliezen we tevens toegang tot een werkelijk deel van onszelf. Daarom benadrukt hij/hen via artistiek-sociale programmering in openbare ruimtes, het belang van een gezonde relatie met aanraking.
In 2020 kwam Giovanni’s film touch ‘M uit: een symbolische weergaven van hoe niet-seksuele aanraking helend kan zijn voor aspecten van giftige mannelijkheid. Touch ‘M is gebaseerd op zijn/hun eigen ervaring met masculiene fysieke connectie en was tevens de start van zijn doorlopend onderzoek naar gezonde intimiteit. Raak Mij Aan, Om Ons Te Zien is een vervolg hierop.
Giovanni Maisto Ferreira is onderdeel van MaMA’s programmapoule 2022 – 2023.
About HOME
HOME is the leitmotiv by which we encourage conversation about conceptions regarding belonging, representation and identification. HOME is a fundament, the place you return to and anchorpoint for the journey onward. HOME (offline as well as online) is the start of feeling connect to others. Under the name HOME we also present exhibitions in the showroom of MAMA. In collaboration with young makers we express interpretations about HOME | IN REAL LIFE | NETWORKS.
