As our interaction with the world becomes increasingly condensed and reduced in the flatness of the handheld screen, Touch at First Glance seeks to elicit a heightened sense of touch and bodily engagement in an exhibition environment. The installation seen, or rather experienced here, is the first iteration of Žarko Aleksić and Sini Rinne-Kanto’s 2022 research project on sensory integration rooms with the overarching shared interest in touch and its role in present-day society. From the importance of touch for mammals on their way to becoming fully sentient beings and in their ability to develop structural and functional changes in the brain – also known as neuroplasticity – to the technological revolution and the question of surveillance (unlike vision and hearing, in the realm of touch one cannot surveil as…