Our entire lives are mediated by touch, led by a haptic sensibility. But once you try to capture it in words, it disappears. Is touch tangible? Is it really there? Touch implies reaching out, often ending up as an incomplete gesture. As philosopher Erin Manning argues: ‘to reach toward an other is never more (or less) than the act of reaching, for an other cannot be discovered as such.’ Yet, touch remembers—we hold on tight, afraid of what will happen if we let go. And touch does let us go, while also remaining with us every step of the way, emerging in us in surprising ways. Touch is creation, and its effects surround and embrace us.

In this issue of Simulacrum, our contributors take on touch from different perspectives, granting their fingertips as much importance as their minds.