Embrace

This project explores physical touch as comfort and its level of need in the relationships with one’s self. Does everyone crave embrace, from a platonic to romantic to familial level, and how is it fulfilled?

Previously I struggled with PDA (personal display of affection) in any sense - hand-holding, hugging to greet people, and someone putting their arm around me on the couch all made me strangely uncomfortable. In any sense, from romantic to platonic, it was a sensation that made me squirm. The weight of this project replicates a hug, actually leading me to feel a bit embarrassed to wear this in front of my peers. The pressure of the fabric and the curve of foam hands started to feel like a person.

Though I intended the piece to be comforting, it projected a fear in me I thought had subsided. At a primal level I still crave embrace, but the struggle between this and my reaction, the adaptation, is where this project came from.

2024 // muslin, expanding foam, faux feathers // 3’ x 5” x 5”