Haptica is an artistic research project in the field of aesthetics that explores practical and theoretical connections between haptic attributes of the hand (making), nose, mouth and throat (tasting) and body (inner presence). The project aims to interlace aesthetic reasoning from sculpture and design to culinary art that emphasises active exploration and intentional form- and taste- giving processes. Haptic perception engages sensory experiences mediated through skin and kinaesthetic system.
The project started with researching how air flows through space and is perceived by subtle sensory receptors under our skin and hair follicles, proceeding to tactile touch of material and grasping of material and instruments used in the creative making and performative process. It then shifted the practical and theoretical models from external space and physical materials to internal airflow through breathing, smelling and tasting that connects with soma aesthetics and reflection through inner presence. The project is a collaboration with Mischa Billing and Annika Göran Rodell, Campus Grythyttan at the School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Meal Science, Örebro University.