Monuments to Touch is an ongoing project, first conceived in late 2020— a time when touch was prohibited. I wanted to find a way to collect touch safely and commemorate it, creating a tangible reminder of our shared humanity. Each monument begins with a handful of clay, I invite stranger to all touch the same piece of clay, for about a minute each. The clay is touched by sometimes up to the 120 strangers and records the essence of human interaction in its rawest form. Despite being strangers to one another, each participant is united by the shared tactile experience and the clay becomes a vessel, a physical manifestation of our deep desire for connection and intimacy. Once the piece is complete, I photograph the clay,  into both real and AI generated environments. In the final photographs, the clay is transformed into a timeless monument.