exhibition

H.U.G.S.

Are you a squeezer? An arm-locker? God forbid, a back-patter? What does your approach to hugging say about you? Dublin-based artist Emma Wade is setting out to explore the science, and indeed pseudo-science, of cuddles with her new exhibition, Human Utopian Generation System. Why has the Free Hugs movement been so successful? Has our migration into cyberspace left us craving genuine physical contact? Wade considers these questions and invites you to stop by the Exchange Gallery and try on a 'H.U.G.S. Jacket', to see if the positive effects of a human embrace can be replicated by a machine. On Sunday, she'll lead a workshop, offering an insight into how the jackets were made and inviting participants to help craft a giant collective hugging jacket. Try to wean yourself off those back-pats before then. / Joey Kavanagh