The hands want to see, the eyes want to caress shows the transformation of a short video sequence through a serial process of playback and re-filming. A number of digital cameras have been arranged in sequence, each capturing the image of the preview screen as well as the sound output from the preceding camera, while in turn having its own output recorded by the next device in the chain. The resulting video shows a gradual process of transmutation, as both sound and image are played out and re-captured again and again until little of the original remains. This work has been motivated by a concern for a hauntology of the trace of an object that refuses to completely vanish, as well as an interest in the sensuous aspects of the surface and texture of the screen and skin.