Big Hug / video / hdv / color / loop / no sound / 2011
In a banal sort of way, the work shows several kinds of hugs, which are used to
examine the cultural mechanisms that allow hugging to be a sociological phenomenon
nowadays. It is rather pathetic that the Free Hug campaign, a global phenomenon, has
spread worldwide, like a real epidemic. The whole thing began when Juan Mann
landed on the Sidney airport, with no one to greet him. He then took a piece of
cardboard and a marker and wrote on it that he gave hugs for free. At first, people just
looked at him in wonder, but then a woman approached him, gave him a hug and told
him her daughter had been killed one year before and she knew exactly how he felt.
That was the beginning of the Free Hug campaign. There are similar campaigns in our
region as well.
examine the cultural mechanisms that allow hugging to be a sociological phenomenon
nowadays. It is rather pathetic that the Free Hug campaign, a global phenomenon, has
spread worldwide, like a real epidemic. The whole thing began when Juan Mann
landed on the Sidney airport, with no one to greet him. He then took a piece of
cardboard and a marker and wrote on it that he gave hugs for free. At first, people just
looked at him in wonder, but then a woman approached him, gave him a hug and told
him her daughter had been killed one year before and she knew exactly how he felt.
That was the beginning of the Free Hug campaign. There are similar campaigns in our
region as well.
