Dead as a doorknob/ Life is an open door Cherie Leung

Doorknobs make me nervous. I can use my elbow to open a door with a push-bar, but a doorknob forces me to wrap my whole hand around it. I think of all those hands that came before me, unwashed hands that have been to the bathroom or questionable places. I panic. I wasn’t always a germaphobe. The global pandemic changed us in so many ways. In this anthropogenic age, we not only altered the earth but how we view the things within it and the social fabric between us. Hugs and handshakes are faux pas, and doorknobs are little spheres of contagion. Soap, on the other hand has its cleansing property. Does a doorknob made of soap alleviate the panic? The semiotics of the doorknob and soap fight each other, like a cognitive illusion between the eye and the brain.

Note: I’ve also used soap as a more sustainable way to create art. It can be melted down and reused in another piece, or simply be used as soap (e.g., after touching doorknobs).