We are proud to announce the release of SubStance 169 (Vol. 55, No. 1, 2026). The publication project is following the 2020 “101. All in One” online conference. This collection of articles examines the shift in telecommunication from mere data transmission to the attempt at “embodied virtual sensoriums,” contextualizing the normalization of telepresence during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The contributions engage with the paradox of telehaptics — the challenge of simulating a sense that is fundamentally grounded in physical proximity. William Uricchio provides a historical perspective on telepresence, while Stelarc and Ken Rinaldo discuss the fragmentation of the biological body through machinic and microbiological interfaces. Scholarly analyses by Ksenia Fedorova, Pierre Cassou-Noguès, Gwenola Wagon, Lorenzo Lazzari, and Natalia Fedorova explore the aesthetic distance and the role of imagination in bridging ontological gaps. By documenting works from pioneers like Vito Acconci to contemporary projects by Lancel and Maat, this issue provides a framework for understanding how mediated sensing reshapes our techno-imaginaries and the nature of human agency.