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.

“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.