One of the three kinds of disgust is sexual disgust. Next to its quite strong effects, such as
resentment of incest, sexual crime etc., sexual disgust is also created by merely inappropriate
behaviours in society, such as touching another person in an intimate or sexual way in public,
even though that might comfort the two persons involved and is a part of our human nature.
This reaction is intensified by the urge of avoiding to be seen as disgusting in public, which is a
main motivator of behaviour relating to disgust.
In this project, I want to explore this relationship of public sexual disgust and hiding intimate
and desirable interactions. This work also touches the topic of inner body disgust. The skin
prevents contact between our purely functional, usually elusive innards and the shapeable
and tangible outer world. This has a strong similarity to our perception of technological objects
today.
The secret button experiment consists of two hand held tools, where the actual interaction is
hidden inside the object. These two persons would touch each other just through the object
by feeling inside the object, which has a very sensual surface inside. One can feel the person
touch on the other side through pressure and movement and touch back with the help of force
sensors.
This project tries to embrace hidden sexuality rather than revealing it, as it is not an actual
sex toy. This sexual interaction might be okay with your partner, however what happens with
a stranger?!
