Touch can equate a sense of companionship: through touch we feel. We acknowledge each other and reassure the other they are not alone in this world. Touch is especially important during times of hardship. In my photo the handprint is positioned on the dark half of the piece—symbolizing hardship in life. Behind the light hand there is a darker hand replicating a reflection of one’s self. The darker handprint, behind the first, is the reflection of their inner feelings, or demons that reflect despite surface happiness or outward appearance. As humans we need touch to feel love, my piece symbolizes how, as humans, we seek out touch to feel a sense of community and purpose and a lack thereof can lead to harmful thought.
For the picture above I chose a single handprint. There is only one hand to represent loneliness and the color blue emphasis the melancholy of the lack of touch. One chapter I deduced to create my piece was Speaking of Touch. In this chapter one learns touch as a metaphor. For example, emotions are referred to as feelings. Interactions with people metaphorically touch emotions and thus create a feeling. A lack of touch leads to more negative feelings. I then used the chapter, First Touches, to explain the phenomena of how a lack of touch leads to a sense of isolation. In First Touches, one learns that children whom are cradled often, as babies, will develop quicker than babies whom received a very little amount of human contact. Simple touches like one from a waitress tapping a customer’s shoulder can result in a higher tip or elevated positive emotions toward said person. Without the reassurance of touch people can become isolated. It is this pining for touch that inspired my piece.
