compression carpet

source:dezeencom
Los Angeles-based artist Lucy McRae has created a machine she calls the Compression Carpet, which offers a hug to a person craving intimacy.

McRae, who refers to herself as a body architect, imagines a future where the growing influx of technology starts to have a big impact on people’s mental wellbeing.

She wonders whether mechanical touch, rather than physical contact with other humans, will become the solution.

Her Compression Carpet is a machine that offers its user a full-body embrace, by sandwiching them between cushions.

“We’re moving towards a touch crisis where we’re inundated with technology, to the point of anxiety,” said McRae. Her question is: “In the future, will technology vie for our affection because of our obsession with digital?”

The machine is coloured with pink and brown tones, reminiscent of skin tones, which emphasise the illusion of human touch.

To use the device, you simply lie down inside it. Another person – likely a stranger – will then turn a handle, which causes the machine to slowly close up around you.

This other person has full control over the firmness of the hug. McRae describes the experience as being “lulled to surrender”.

Compression Carpet was unveiled at Festival of the Impossible, a San Francisco exhibition that explored the future relationship between humans and machines. Guests were invited to try the machine out for themselves.

“Most left with a glazed look in their eyes, after a few minutes of being squeezed,” McRae told Dezeen.

One user likened the experience to the “reassuring feeling” she got from hugging a friend twice her size, said McRae, while another was able to use and enjoy the device despite suffering from claustrophobia.

“During the first moments she felt the triggers of claustrophobia, but overcame them by laying there and staying calm,” added the artist. “My guess is if we added sound and guided audio, the experience would expand the senses one step further.”

McRae’s work centres around the idea of using the body to speculate on the future. Past projects include The Institute of Isolation, which explores how humans can prepare their bodies for life in outer space.

In a recent interview with Dezeen, the designer said she was “interested in giving science fiction an overdue sex change”.

This latest project is a followup on from Compression Cradle, a project McRae created for Broken Nature: Design Takes on Human Survival, the Triennale di Milano curated by Paola Antonelli.

In this previous iteration of the design, the hug is created by an inflatable device. Users control the intensity of their own experience with buttons.

“Both works consume the body with affection and a heavy-duty hug,” added McRae.

“The big picture is to exhibit the family of hugs under the one roof, like a sort of intimacy-circuit-training for the future sensitive human.”
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source:designboomcom
artist lucy mcrae has created a machine to mimic the positive effects of a human hug. the ‘compression carpet’ requires two people to operate, including someone to lie down inside the device and another to turn a crank that slowly increases pressure.

lucy mcrae works across science, technology, art and design, using the body to explore how the different fields can both merge and progress. her first career perspective is currently on show at NGV australia, called lucy mcrae: body architect, showcasing her collaborations with brands, scientists and pop musicians alongside her creative research practice over the past thirteen years.

‘the overarching theme is to make art that speculates on the human condition and ask how science and tech are challenging what it means to be human,’ lucy explains.

‘body architect is a fabricated, made-up title that won me a dream job in wearable electronics at phillips. it seems to have stuck. it’s a nebulous term that allows me to slip between body architect, thought leader, creative director, science-fiction artist and filmmaker.’

imagining a future that assumes a lack of human touch, lucy created the compression carpet to affectionately squeeze users between a series of blubber-like cushions. by adding guided audio to the experience, mcrae envisions the such a device could serve as a stress antidote to improve wellbeing.

‘most people have a glazed look in their eyes after a 3-minute squeeze,’ she says ‘one lady compared the experience to a friend she hugs when she feels overwhelmed or anxious.’

the compression carpet is a continuation of the artist’s compression cradle, a machine that had a similar effect on the body by using a sequence of aerated volumes. tightening around the body as they deflate, the device aimed to assist in altering the expression of oxytocin — a hormone released in the brain responsible for building trust and pair bonding. mcrae created the piece for broken nature: design takes on human survival, the triennale di milano exhibition curated by paola antonelli.

‘touch is the first sense developed in the womb and remains to be a complex sense and phenomena,’ she explains. ‘when you are hugged, the hormone oxytocin is released in the brain. oxytocin is responsible for promoting feelings of love and well-being; it’s also being tested as an anti-anxiety drug.’

‘I’m yet to measure the brain when the body is compressed in a machine like the compression carpet, but based on six years of artistic research I speculate that this hugging machine — like a human hug — can trigger the release of oxytocin.’

‘when art tips into health, science and medicine – they work in tandem; complimenting and pushing each other, this is the goal.’

lucy’s current body of work, entitled the future day spa, includes an immersive art installation offering 360-degree hugs. it envisages the spa of tomorrow in which the tools and processes of the facility help the human form cope with the conditions of living in space. she was surprised when someone who suffered from haphephobia — the fear of physical contact, hugged her after experiencing the machine.

‘after learning from the future day spa, that someone who feared touch could crave it, I threw my attention to the psychology of isolation.’

‘the works look at how we’re moving towards a touch crisis where we’re inundated with technology, to the point of anxiety. questioning whether technology will vie for our affection because of our obsession with digital.’

‘both consume the body with affection and a heavy-duty hug. the big picture is to exhibit the family of hugs under the one roof; like a sort of intimacy-circuit-training for the future sensitive human.’
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source:portfolioloverscom
A artista australiana, Lucy Mcrae, criou uma máquina para imitar os efeitos positivos de um abraço humano na cama. Sua obra, intitulada “Compressão Carpet“, requer duas pessoas para funcionar, incluindo alguém para se deitar dentro do dispositivo e outro para girar uma manivela que aumenta lentamente a pressão.

A artista trabalha com ciência, tecnologia, arte e design, usando o corpo para explorar como esses diferentes campos podem se fundir e se desenvolver.

Sua primeira exposição individual está atualmente em exibição no NGV Austrália, mostrando uma retrospectiva de suas colaborações com marcas, cientistas e músicos pop, ao lado de sua prática de pesquisa criativa nos últimos treze anos.
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source:lifestyocom
洛杉磯藝術家 Lucy McRae 創造了一種類似壓縮地毯的機器「Compression Carpet」，該機器為渴望親密的人提供了一個即時具體擁抱。壓縮地毯通過將機械觸摸夾在墊子之間，為用戶提供全身擁抱，機器以粉紅色和棕色調上色，讓人聯想到膚色用以強調觸覺，整體由可充氣設備創建的，用戶可以通過按鈕控制自己的體驗強度。這種體驗可比作擁抱一個朋友而獲得令人放心的感覺。McRae 期望作品都充滿了情感和具現化的擁抱動作，給予一種比擬真人的實時感受。