January 27, 2006 4:00 AM PST
Gemma Shusterman's "Endangered Senses" was inspired, says the artist, by the human tendency to understand the rest of the natural world solely in terms of human experience.
The elephant-inspired costume investigates the pachyderms' ability to detect infrasonic and seismic vibrations. The outfit has long telescoping sleeves that conceal the arms and hands and connect to the floor. Thus, the human is asked to sacrifice defining human characteristics (being bipedal, with opposable thumbs) in order to experience a supplemental sense. Shusterman is a student at MIT's Media Lab.
Photo by Kate Kunath
