Using methods inspired from traditional rug making, Sarkis presents two large scale, fixed yet soft and shaggy looking installations: “Motherboard”, “We Were Taught That There is One, and Then Zero”; and video “Only You”. Both composed in a dark red palette, the works resemble the look of a healing wound; an interesting choice by the artist, as not unlike a wound, the artworks reveal to be sensitive to the simplest touch. It is possible that Sarkis has selected the medium ironically because rather than acting as a decorative veil, the ‘rug’ speaks and bares hidden sensations, as once felt by her creator. The artist explains that the rugs are infused with capacitative touch sensing hardware that was developed by computational artist Vytas Niedvaras, and it enables the random generation of audible responses, extracted from the video “Only You”, to interaction with the works.

Much like its title suggests, “Motherboard” is an almost symmetric grid looking flat structure, that is assumed to perform a mechanical function if properly connected. On a superficial visual and interactive level, it is exactly what the work does; it generates sound in response to touch. On a deeper level however, the grid resembles a diagram of the female reproductive system, which when seen in such context leads the viewer to imagine a techno dystopia similar to Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”, in which a woman’s natural ability to carry and birth children is industrialised and reduced to a mere transaction. However, Sarkis’s voice and intent make an appearance right then, as “Motherboard” is not at all passive; on the contrary, she speaks when spoken to or touched. She is powerful and present. Perhaps, for the future, the artist is questioning intimacy and human connections in a nearly virtual world and how technology will manifest within society and alter the traditional interactions that form and build relationships.