One continuous loop of pleated and tucked fabric, the cummerbund hugs each user's body, a placeholder for our missing physical contact, and then loops again to hold the users six feet apart. At once at a distance and also within a contained, private space, each user can lean out against the fabric creating a delicate balance between their body and that of their partner. Just as in a trust exercise, each user must purposefully balance their weight to keep their partner from falling.

Before COVID-19, I was making art objects that used proximity as an entry point to think about how we live together, see one another and ourselves. Using proximity is clearly no longer a possibility, except between individuals sheltering together in lockdown. So, I have turned to the space of six feet. What does six feet feel like? What are the possibilities for intimacy, connection, and embodied play at six feet apart? Cummerbund for Socially Distant Connection is the first object I've made that contemplates this distance.

Susan Stainman, Cummerbund for Socially Distant Connection, 2020. Fabric. 12 x 80 x 1/4 inches. — Susan Stainman, *Cummerbund for Socially Distant Connection*, 2020. Fabric. 12 x 80 x 1/4 inches.

Detail of Cummerbund for Socially Distant Connection. — Detail of *Cummerbund for Socially Distant Connection*.

Susan Stainman is an interdisciplinary artist, working in sculpture, installation, and social practice. Her work explores our interdependence: how we live together and what we owe one another.