In Between. The Warmth

Last spring, I was away from home longer than ever before. I was careful and consistent, creating and maintaining this portable sense of home I mentioned in the exhibition’s introduction with various activities, routines and meals. However, halfway through the trip, stress caught up with me. I realised I was missing physical touch. Especially now, as I raise a small child, caring touches and, in a sense, functional physical closeness are integral to my daily life. While I was away, I was cut off from all of that. Upon returning home, my shocked body took a long time to recover, and I found myself unable to touch any friends for several weeks.

Recently, Laura Cemin has focused on the role of language and the body in human communication. Having lived away from her birthplace for an extended period, she has experienced firsthand that some things remain untranslatable and that her mother tongue is quietly fading within her. Residing in a new and unfamiliar place makes an individual’s most fundamental needs more apparent. As a newcomer, they may be compelled to rebuild her support structures entirely from scratch.

Art often arises from very simple, fundamental needs. The photo installation In Between. The Warmth documents five embraces. In capturing the photographs, Cemin used a ten-second exposure time, requiring her to hold each embrace with a friend or family member for at least that duration. This process allowed her to derive both creative inspiration and physical closeness. Additionally, she measured the temperature of each embrace and contemplated which material characterised each one. Different materials conduct heat differently, resulting in sensations of either warmth or cold. The first version of the artwork has been lost, and what is presented here is the second version, for which the artist reconnected with all the participants. Although the two versions are only a few years apart, emotions are never static, leading to changes in both the perceived temperature of the embraces and the materials associated with them.