Mixed Messages consists of a collection of cuddly stuffed animals. When someone picks up one of the animals, they address the person in a terse tone, saying things like, "It's not you. I like you. I just need some space." or "Can't you just leave me alone for a while?"
Mixed Messages is part of a larger body of work which examines the way we ascribe emotion to inanimate objects. The work parallels current research in "affective computing," in which the capability of sensing and conveying emotion is built into computing devices.
