Touch Grass: The Healing Power of Vulnerability
Research shows many people in cities are hyper aware of their surroundings.
Over a lifetime, this hyper awareness leads to a higher incidence of physical and mental illness. Complementary research shows time spent in greenspace is correlated with improved physical and mental health.
In Touch Grass we explore how vulnerability makes people stronger. The photo series/social experiment was commissioned by The Arts Commission and National Endowment for the Arts.
To create the project, I curated a cross-section of city residents in Toledo, Ohio. I then invited them to meet a strange man in the park so he could take their picture.
When they arrived, I asked they wear vision-blocking dark glasses. I also asked they lie prone with vital organs facing the sky.
I felt the portraits not only should visualize vulnerability, portrait participants should experience it.
Lest I be mistaken for sadist, I also made myself vulnerable.
On five separate occasions I hauled more than $6000 of camera equipment to a public park. Alone. To meet people from the internet.
I grew up in Detroit. To this day, I find it hard sit with my back to a restaurant door. My innate cynicism was affirmed by cynical circumstance. If the message here is people are better off when they are less on guard, I was as much a member of the project’s choir as its orchestrator.
As mentioned earlier, allowing yourself to be vulnerable has physical and mental health benefits. The same is true for time spent in nature.
I’m happy to say my anecdotal experience matches the research. I came away from this project feeling lighter.
The time spent in the late summer sun with these wonderful strangers reminded me some people are conscientious. Kind. Worthy of trust.
A reminder we need now more than ever.
Conceptual Installations
We believe this project reinforces the value of city parks. If you are a municipality that would like to host an installation of this work, please get in touch: noah@thepeopleofdetroit.com