Touching Wires (Oh… What a joy it is to be held)¹

2025

fibres, recycled vinyl, electronics

It’s a privilege to be held, to be hugged, to connect. Could AI be afforded that privilege?

This work is a manifestation of the continuing dialogues I have questioning what place AI has in my life, what place I have in AI, how do we define our relationships with autonomous systems and technologies? Crochet has yet to be replicated by machine, what better way to co-create with a machine than through an interface with the most tender techniques the human hand can create? The more AI products are being embedded into our lives, the more distractions they bring, the more we need to preserve the joys we have, and construct better places for AI to help us reinvent joy.

I have been ruminating on this work as an externalised search for joy and comfort at a time where my brain is constantly filled by technology with so many different things — news, brainrot, life hacks, memes, distractions. I wanted to expose the circuitry as a consideration of my brain, and how through all the thoughts, all I feel I can do is focus on this search for joy, connection, comfort. I reflect on my formative experiences with computers as I form my first collaborations with AI.