14th to 27th of June 2010
With a sudden surge in spontaneous expressions affection between strangers such as; the Free Hugs movement and Amma the Hugging Saint, the artist wondered, what is the origin of this need for contact? Is it due to an increase in communication online and increasingly segmented communities, are people less used to communicating face-to-face?
The artist is equally intrigued with science and pseudo-science, the work of noted autistic author and scientist Dr. Temple Grandin, and her creation; an apparatus called the squeeze machine. The machine applies a pressure over a large part of the body and has a positive effect. This same logic is re-appropriated in this project to attempt to simulate the positive effects of a hug with the use of a wearable device within the gallery space. The project comments on the need for human contact, dislocation of communities, and our intertwining relationships with machines.
H.U.G.S Workshop
Date: Friday June 25th at 1 pm
- Participants: 8-10
- Price: free
- To book email hello@emmawade.com
In this fun 90 minute workshop, participants will learn a bit more about the H.U.G.S. Jackets. They will gain an insight into how the jackets were made and work together to create a giant collective hugging jacket.
About the artist:
Emma Wade
Emma Wade is a dublin based visual artist and educator. She works with installation, digital media and performance. Her work is playful, interactive and audience focused. In 2008 Emma received an MA from NCAD and subsequently completed an internship in New Media Education at the Guggenheim Museum New York. Her work uses play and humour as tools to provoke thought, and to entertain. Science and Pseudo-science heavily influence her practice. The conflict between scientific fact and common belief fascinates her. Defining proof, the notion of what is real and who decides. Her current research investigates the physiological effects of deep pressure and cellular memory in a fine art context.
