Touch me not is the title of the environmental installation born from a period of field research conducted
by Samira Mosca in Northern Ireland, between Belfast and Derry (or Londonderry) in November
2024. The intervention delves into the theme of collective trauma from the specific perspective of
the Northern Irish context, marked by a decades-long civil conflict (known as “The Troubles”), with
particular attention to the transgenerational transmission of its effects.
Composed of a series of full-length portraits in real size, oral and written testimonies, a travel diary,
and various specimens of Mimosa pudica (or “touch me not,” from which the title is derived), the
installation is complemented by a bibliographic section that gathers a selection of study materials
and documentation chosen by the artist. The exhibition also features a video in which Irish political
scientist Seán Thomas Cummins explores the historical-political context of the Northern Irish events.
(Text taken from the communication materials of the Quo Vadis? 2025 Festival)
“Touch me not” is the name commonly given to Mimosa Pudica. Touch me not evokes an instinctive
reaction, a closing off, a response to trauma. Touch me not is crossed out, erased; it can be touched,
it can be grazed... with care and attention, one can interact with the plants, one can interact with
traumatized people and open up something, have difficult and painful stories told, transform them
into trauma and not stigma, which can then be processed to avoid transmitting it to new generations.
