Haptic spaces: Textiles in contemporary installation art

Abstract

At present, textiles have established themselves as some of the most significant materials within contemporary artistic practice, particularly in the field of installation art. Building on this premise, this article examines the potential of textiles as generators of haptic and sensory spaces within the domain of textile installation, conceiving it as an interface that mediates the relationship between body and space. At the same time, it explores the symbolic, political and performative dimensions of textile materiality and how these dimensions reconfigure our spatial experience and the ways in which we are affected in our encounter with the artwork. This approach is evident in the work of numerous contemporary artists and is analyzed in this article via three case studies: Ann Hamilton, Kapwani Kiwanga and Rosa Tharrats, whose installation practices not only highlight a substantial shift in the contemporary understanding of space, but also in the ways that we relate with the world in which we inhabit.