Alexander Brandt

Tickle (2004, multi-screen interactive installation)

A series of screens display the bare skin portraits of a man and woman, both with a frantic expression. An awkward device with a piece of synthetic skin is pointed towards the audience. Whenever anyone touches this piece of skin, caresses, tickles or squeezes it, the man and woman will break out into wild laughter. It is hard to tell if they are having fun, if they are sexually aroused or if they are actually suffering.
Their excess goes on only as long as someone in the audience tickles the device, and it stops as soon as their hand leaves. The main attraction - as a lot of people discover - is actually not to observe the screens, but to observe the curious expressions of each member in the audience while interacting with this installation.