Like a hanging Petri dish, Urticina eques reflex - pet me not come back instantly attracts and repels the viewer in equal measure. A rubbery silicone skin stretched across a metal frame with bolts and rivets, and suspended by a sleek metal chain, the work’s striking materiality speaks of both the fetish dungeon and the science lab. Flesh, sores, mould and contamination but also intimacy, touch and play come to mind. Silicone is often used in sex toys, but also in filmmaking to create masks that resemble human skin. Demonstrating the proximity of desire and abjection, Gurova and Scherer’s sculpture creates a moment of confusion to rethink ways of safe touching.

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