phobic: having a strong unreasonable fear of something

The work "phobic" addresses delineation and personal boundaries – and what happens when these boundaries are crossed, the fears that accompany this.

"Phobic" was created for the exhibition "Jenseits des Sehens" (Beyond Vision) which took place at the Museum Stift Admont. Here the focus was on haptic and acoustic perception, in particular. Most of Julie Hayward’s sculptures work with a sort of "optical haptic" where materiality and the irritation that clearly arises from the fact that the objects are not supposed to be touched play an eminent role. Often there remains an uncertainty whether something is hard or soft and one is also not entirely sure which material the surface is actually made of. In connection with optical perception this is a central aspect in Julie Hayward’s sculptures. "Phobic" is the first object that was actually designed to be touched and thus also experienced in a haptic sense.

In haptic terms, "Phobic" operates by means of various material levels, the form that is to be grasped and the sensory experience of its reaction as soon as one walks towards it or touches it. Phobic consists of one shell which is covered with a number of openings, coated with a soft varnish – so that apart from the shape of the object it also assumes something organic. Inside of it, with a bit a distance from the outer shell, there is a core consisting of plush that gives it a soft and organic look. The core is equipped with sensors and a mechanism that makes the core shake as soon as someone approaches the object, making the reaction of the body something that can be immediately experienced.

With its tentacles, "Phobic" visually resembles an oversized prehistoric animal or a creature from a science fiction film. Given its size which is modeled after the human body, it has something frightening about it, but at the same time it appears vulnerable. "Phobic" recalls a hybrid being, with the organic form, combined with technology, alluding to a sort of primitive cyborg. The entire object is black – what appears comical is thus subverted by the uncanny.