Haptic is a visual, written and tactile document of the work and process of two Vancouver sculptors, Tegan Moore and Elspeth Pratt, with a complex and provocative written contribution by Lorna Brown, and book design by Working Format. The term “haptic”, referring to the sense of touch and act of touching, is now familiar in the description of devices like smartphones and touch-screens; in other words, the act of manipulating imaginary objects by touching a surface. The sensory knowledge of the textures of surfaces and the conveyance of subtle variations of meaning in gestures are only provisionally available in these interfaces, and the trace of a touch is meant to disappear the moment the screen is cleared or the hardware rebooted.
This book was originally released in conjunction with the exhibition Tegan Moore and Elspeth Pratt: Haptic, presented by the Helen Pitt Gallery at 221A Artist Run Centre, September 2010, curated by Paul Kajander and Keith Higgins.