Touching A Cactus is a meditation on physical/virtual desire and consequences (or lack thereof). Set within the context of forty real cacti, the virtual environment is a loop of five interactive vignettes: a series of experienced metaphors. The environment features an 80-line poem that appears in different permutations throughout the piece, making each run through the loop a unique experience.



TOUCHING A CACTUS (a poem in virtual reality) from Sarah Rothberg on Vimeo.












The physical manifestation of the piece surrounds the user in 40 small cactuses, and a looping animation on a monitor of a cactus being (infrequently) touched, and eventually knocked over.



Touching A Cactus was featured at the BUNKER show at Sotheby's, the Superbright REVERIE show at New Lab, and FLATLANDS as part of Miami Art Week with Mana Contemporary.