Compression Carpet
Future Survival Kit
Compression Carpet is part of Lucy’s Future Survival Kit – new kinds of deeply immersive tools for the future, designed as antidotes to our submissive nature towards technology.
“Most people have a glazed look in their eyes after a 3-minute squeeze. One lady compared the experience to a friend she hugs when she feels overwhelmed or anxious”
Adobe for FESTIVAL OF IMPOSSIBLE
Compression Carpet is part of the family of machines designed to mimic the positive effects of a human hug. Requiring two people to operate this lo-fi machine, blubber-like cushions affectionately squeeze the body as somebody turns a crank to increase the pressure.
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Compression Carpet shines light on society’s forever connectedness and the symptoms of technology, where human interactions more and more, take place in the digital world, overshadowing our physical selves. This symptom has led us to a crisis of touch, demanding interventions that cater to society’s physical and emotional needs. The 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. Both consume the body with affection and a heavy-duty hug.
The ambition is to exhibit the family of hugs under one roof; in a sort of intimacy-circuit-training for the future sensitive human.
Future Survival Kit 1,0 Commissioned by Adobe for Festival of Impossible
Artist – Lucy McRae
Specialist Producer – Alice Parker
Curator – Joyce Grimm
Festival Founder & Commissioner – Stefano Corazza
Machine Fabrication – Machine Histories
Materials R&D – Tina Joyner
Custom Soft Goods – Evelyn Garcia
Studio Team – Andres Gandara
Photography – Scottie Cameron
Special thanks to Steve Joyner & Neil Mendoza
Future Survival Kit 2,0 Commissioned by Design Museum Holon for State of Extremes
Artist – Lucy McRae
Specialist Producer – Alice Parker
Curator – Aric Chan with Maya Dvash and Azinta Plantenga
Machine Fabrication – Machine Histories
Custom Soft Goods – Evelyn Garcia
Studio Team – Andres Gandara
Photography – Ariel Fisher