Artist Statement: Hugging Things 

My practice involves a physical dialogue with materials. This body of work explores the absence of physical touch we have experienced during the pandemic. By casting hugs, and the liminal space that exits between people, and making ‘hugged objects’, I attempt to create a sense of communitas; signifying solidarity between our shared, lived experience of a year without meaningful physical interaction.

When a barrier is put up, there is a stronger need for the thing we cannot have; when our right to touch those we love is taken away, what fills that absence and provides that comfort when it is most needed? By making a hug a solid, tangible thing, I hope to highlight the importance that these haptic interactions have on our well-being and how they can nurture our relationships within our social circles. The tactility of making with my chosen materials - clay, paper, plaster, and textiles offers an embodied and emotive making journey that is integral to the conceptual layers of this project.