The so-called ‘new normal’ after COVID-19 pandemic has given us the sense that our living space may be filled with potentially deadly viruses, lurking on every surface.
These fears are well-founded: more than 850,000 people worldwide have been killed so far by the airborne virus, transmitted through everyday activities such as talking, singing and sneezing. We have since grown accustomed to wearing masks to avoid inhaling or exhaling the virus. In addition, droplets of saliva were found to be a source of infection, and all surfaces are now subject to rigorous routines of cleaning and disinfection.

It is natural to consider how these huge changes to our lives will affect our consciousness.
I believe they will increase our awareness of the boundary between the digital information and physical worlds.

Since Apple released the iPhone with the integrated touchscreen user interface in 2007, much of our lives have been devoted to stroking black glass surfaces. Previously, when we touched a smartphone screen, we were rarely aware of the glass surface that our fingers were in contact with.

However, the COVID-19 outbreak which occurred at Oita Medical Center in Japan was suspected to originate from the shared touchscreen tablets used to view electronic medical records. The Coronavirus thus revealed that the touch screen is itself a material substance, and that the digital and physical worlds are facing each other across a thin, glass membrane.

This event made me think about ‘The Kiss’, an art installation presented by the artistic unit EXONEMO at the 2019 Aichi Triennale in Japan resembling a monument to a world divided by the surfaces of display. The work consists of two smartphones look-alike displays facing each other and supported by 3D-printed hand-like structures. Each display shows a video chat-like screen depicting a face with the eyes closed. Somehow, we recognize the overlap of the two physical displays as a kiss. However, the glass screens of the display block any direct contact between the digital entities.

Despite video conferencing software allowing us to communicate over physical distances, we remain divided by the glass screen on the display surfaces. And in a world where the virus may exist on every surface, being inside a screen can make you feel secure.
However, can we overcome this division? Various companies around the world, such as Neonode are combining holographic displays with hand-tracking technology to create contact less, interactive displays. Another company, Ultraleap, sells devices that mimic tactile sensations using controlled ultrasound emission.

Perhaps the future of these technologies is a world of perfect kisses shared by holograms.
The question, however, lingers: will we ever hug each other directly once more, beyond the display surface?

I sincerely hope so.