Finger Play

Finger Plays

From Shadow Theatre to Social Networks

Modena, FMAV - Fondazione Modena Arti Visive - 2023

Presented at the Museo della Figurina in Modena and curated by Francesca Fontana, Finger Plays is a site-specific installation by Yannick Jacquet exploring the connections between historical image culture and contemporary social media practices.

Drawing from the museum’s archive of 19th-century chromolithographic cards depicting hand shadow games, the project establishes unexpected parallels with finger dance videos popularized on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube during the COVID lockdowns.

Combining audiovisual creation, and scenographic installation, Finger Plays creates a dialogue between shadow theatre, pre-cinema, non-verbal gestures and contemporary digital culture. Alongside the immersive video environment, a display installation brings historical collectible cards into direct conversation with images and visual fragments gathered from contemporary social networks.