Finger Box 1965

Ay-O's Finger Box presents a series of wooden blocks, each punctuated by a circular void, inviting tactile exploration. The symbol emblazoned upon the box and blocks—an 'A' poised above what appears to be an anvil—evokes a sense of creation and transformation. Consider the 'A', the alpha, the beginning. Combined with the anvil, traditionally a tool for shaping metal, a transformative act of creation, this can be seen as a symbol of the creative act. Similar to the hermetic symbol of the philosopher's stone, the Finger Box invites the viewer to delve into the depths of sensory experience. This harkens back to alchemical traditions where transformation occurs through tactile engagement with the material world, stirring our collective memory of creation myths. The primal act of touching and feeling—essential to our understanding of the world. Just as the infant explores its surroundings through touch, Ay-O beckons us to return to this state of unmediated perception. The Finger Box then becomes more than a mere object, but a tool for a kind of sensory and psychological archaeology.