Finger Gloves

Rebecca Horn’s "Finger Gloves" is part of her body extension series that address the relationship of the body with space, other bodies and surrounding objects. Made of wooden sticks covered with black fabric, these prosthetic gloves have 90 cm long fingers that enable the person wearing them to reach things located at physical distance. Horn herself wore these gloves, attaching each of them to her wrists, and performed them in several spaces. With this prothesis, she explored the possibility of touching and sensing the surfaces of a given space and the body parts of another person from a distance, without having a direct contact. In Horn’s view, the act of touching, the perception and sensations it provides, cannot be limited to skin-contact; with this work, the artist examined the means and meanings of touching things at distance with the help of an artifact. During the performances in which she used “Finger Gloves”, Horn says that she discovered herself as a touching body, thanks to the unusual movements and gestures that were required in order to move her fingers with these extensions. The work can also be interpreted from the perspectives of distance and privacy.

"Words Are Very Unnecessary", exhibition view, Arter, 2019.