The sculptures of Cocoon and Tactlility were installed at St Mary's University Art Gallery between October 5 and November 23, 2005 in a solo exhibition: Three Senses

I have been developing different aspects of Three Senses since 2002. The project started with the Roaming Eyeball, which has toured through four cities and been exhibited along with the video projection in temporary gallery spaces in the U.S and Canada. After completing two extended rolls of the Eyeball, I started to work on a project about the sense of hearing. I decided to design a sculpture of an ear that could be both a passive surveillance device and an aquatic object that was easily visible from the shore. While floating in the water it absorbed sounds that were transmitted to a head set for viewers to listen to. After completing aural and visual pieces that were large relative to the body but diminished by the natural environments they moved in, I began to turn my attention to the more subjective and deeply internal sense of touch. The exaggerated size of the hand and finger magnifies their ability to meet and intercede in the world, reflecting what I believe to be the true scale of their roles as the carriers of sensory messages and the agents of human will. Tactility (the large hand) and Cocoon (the finger with prints and a drawing) are being shown for the first time.

Ilan Sandler October 2005