MOUSE MASSAGE
interactive installation
for New Media class
“Holding Things Together”, Udk Rundgang 2026, Berlin
Year: 2026
Format: interactive object
Materials: 3D print, PETG, silicon, vibration motors, touch sensors, copper, electronics
Is there any animalistic object more attached to our hand than the computer mouse? Think of all the hours spent gripping this piece of technology (when not clutching a phone). The compact computer mouse is one of the few technological objects that remains in constant contact with our body, all while directing our attention elsewhere.
Mouse Massage explores whether this familiar object could instead help us hold ourselves together. Drawing from ergonomic design and reflexology wellness practice wearables, the mouse responds to the user through forced feedback and high-frequency pressure point stimulation — aiming to shift the relationship between user and technology. Here, it becomes less of a productivity tool and more of a device for bodily awareness and care.
Am I moving the mouse, or is the mouse moving me?
Credits:
Concept and implementation: Natalya Bashnyak
Thanks to Benjamin Maus, Katja Aufleger, Birgit Severin and New Media Class.
Special thanks to H. Haasler, L. Masak, O. Helfer Rabaça, O. Bichuk, H. Ćurak, J. Ratzke.