Group Hug

2024
Immersive INSTALLATION
DIMENSIONS VARIABLE

Group Hug is an immersive installation that explores the complex social relationships inherent in receiving and providing care. It is my first museum solo show and my most personal work to date. Inspired by my father's recent diagnosis with a life-changing medical condition that has caused our whole family to experience shifts in how we are used to giving and receiving care, Group Hug borrows its name from the answer to a New York Times crossword clue: “many-person act of support or affection”.

Upon entering the exhibition, visitors are presented with a choice of two paths: ‘Care For’ or ‘Cared For’. This implied question about what someone needs or wants, or perhaps just the role that they habitually fill, is the beginning of an immersive journey that blends elements of games and collaboration. Depending on their chosen path, visitors will either play an exhilarating multi-person game that evokes feelings of urgency, camaraderie, and either triumph or disappointment, or relax among green felted leaves in geometric pods that resemble giant coconut shells. The dynamic interplay between these experiences is a literal manifestation of the work and effort that goes into caring for one another.

This candy-colored installation represents my unique halo-halo of experiences (a Tagalog term meaning ‘mix-mix’) and is reflective of my Filipinx-American background. Central to Group Hug and much of my work is the pre-colonial Philippine concept of kapwa, which represents a deeply shared identity and the belief that we have a moral imperative to care for others as we do ourselves. Group Hug offers a space for contemplation, interaction, and playful exploration about the impact of our choices on our collective well-being.

Group Hug is the result of a two-year residency and created in collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, PA.

More Information:

• Listen to interview on The No Proscenium Podcast: “Of Group Hugs And Unresolved Rage w/ Risa Puno”, February 23, 2024.

• Read interview in White Hot Magazine: GROUP HUG: Interview with Risa Puno at The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, April 25, 2024.

• Read interview + 10-page feature in the print edition of July/Aug 2024 Sculpture Magazine: "Collective Effort: A Conversation with Risa Puno".

Special Thanks:

Maryam Sophia Jahanbin, Ronnie Puno, Regina Puno, Randy Puno, Avi Dobkin, Brett Kuehner

Audio Credit:

The intro music for the ‘Care For Together’ game features an adaptation of "Idaw" by Bayanihan, the National Dance Company of the Philippines, mixed with sound effects adapted from freesound.org under Creative Commons licenses by Daniel Poggioli (CC BY 4.0) and Robinhood76 (CC BY-NC 4.0). Additional sound effects for the game were adapted from recordings by Robinhood76 (CC BY-NC 4.0), Anikadl (CC BY 4.0), BockelSound (CC BY 4.0), and Leady (CC BY 3.0). The ambient sound in the 'Cared For' pods are adapted from recordings from freesound.org by Kevp888 (CC BY 4.0).