Recently, Sciarrino’s focus has turned to haptic technology and its impact on current modes of production, including the development of metamaterials, advancements in fabrication, and the enhancement of virtual spaces. For Ripple Affect, Sciarrino used openFrameworks (an open source C++ toolkit for creative coding) and motion capture to record her gestures on a digital water surface IRL (“In Real Life”). The effect the hand has on the digital surface is an estimation based on physical and mathematical evidence of how the material (water) reacts to dynamics. Using this method, Sciarrino’s hand generates waves and ripples in a digitally replicated world, yet the hand itself has disappeared leaving only the effects caused by its touch on the digital surface. Ripple Affect provokes a speculative reflection on the visceral, enigmatic substance called water that is so essential to our survival.