Touchy is a human camera – a wearable device that literally transforms a human being into a functioning camera. The wearer is constantly “blinded” unless someone touches his/her skin that causes the shutters to open and restores the wearer’s vision. When physical contact is held for 10 seconds, the camera takes a “Touch-Snap”, which is displayed on the device’s LCD.
Online social technology loosens our social boundaries, yet equally dehumanizes physical communication. Connecting with people can now as minimal as pushing a Facebook “Like” button. Considering the urgency of such dehumanization, Touchy is devised to encourage offline communication through touch, eye contact and engaging activity of photography. The resulting touch-snaps remind us of the ephemeral richness of togetherness.
With such a strong social capability, Touchy investigate the potential to become a social healing device to heal social problems such as social anxiety. Since Sept 2012, the artist has put himself into experiment, and finds personal transformation after Thousands of touch-snaps.