Compression Cradle looks like a remnant from a world we have not yet seen but might soon inhabit. One where mechanical touch may be an antidote for today's 'forever connectedness,' a behavior that has triggered collective anxiety. As people increasingly choose to live independently, handling devices more than human flesh, we create opportunities for technology to vie for our affections. De-evolving physical touch will change our species as we know it. We are inducing a crisis of touch--how will art, design, and business cater to society's evolving physical and emotional needs?
Compression Cradle is a machine that affectionately squeezes the body with a sequence of aerated volumes that hold you tight, in an attempt to prepare the self for a future that lacks human touch. Through a choreography of touch sensations, this mechanism assists in altering the expression of oxytocin--the hormone released in the brain, responsible for building trust and pair bonding. This immersive artwork is a playful and mechanical antidote to a condition that will become more extreme in the future.
Based on audience feedback we have uncovered critical insight into the relationship mechanical touch has with autism. During an exhibition of the work, parents of an autistic child noticed considerable difference and calm after spending time in the Compression Cradle.
How could this artwork be developed into a consumer product to reduce the effects of autism?
The Compression Cradle is an ongoing research project investigating the human losses and gains of touch. The project's aim is to gather data at future exhibitions to form the premise for a new work and symposium that discuss research and new points of view on the future of touch, empathy, and the human condition.
With a set of deeply ingrained beliefs and ethics, all of Lucy McRae's projects, including the Compression Cradle, are committed to a single objective: the preservation of humanity.

Links: https://www.lucymcrae.net/compression-cradle

Co-commission by Het Nieuwe Instituut and Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences
Artist: Lucy McRae
Creative producer: Alice Parker
Machine fabrication: Machine Histories
Custom soft goods: Anjia Jalac
Studio team: Minah Kim, Fiona Ng & Brendan Ho
Co-curators: Francien Van Westrenen, Angela Rui, Marina Otero, Keinton Butler
Photography: Scottie Cameron, Daria Scagliola
Special thanks to: Keinton Butler, Guus Beumer, Mark Van Veen, Ellen Zoete, Angela Rui, Steven Joyner & Jason Pilarski

Lucy McRae (GB) is a science fiction artist, filmmaker, inventor, and body architect, who works across installation, film, photography, artificial intelligence, and edible technology. Her work speculates on the future of human existence, exploring the limits of the body, beauty, biotechnology, and the self as well as the cultural and emotional impacts science and cutting edge technology have on redesigning the body. Lucy uses art as a mechanism to signal and provoke our ideologies and ethics about who we are and where we are headed. She has exhibited internationally at museums, film festivals, institutes such as MIT, Ars Electronica, NASA, and science forums and is recognised as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.