Twenty-five healthcare workers were asked to give a heartfelt hug to one of these gray papers — for as long as they wanted, as tight as they felt like — while thinking positive thoughts and carrying a smile through the embrace. The papers received the hugs and held their shape. Each one now retains the negative space of an embrace: the curve of arms wrapped around it, the ridge of a torso’s weight, the slight twist of a body leaning in.
The papers are pinned to the wall along a horizontal line, extending into the gallery’s space, casting their own shadows. Each is different. Each is the residue of one act of care, performed by a body whose professional work involves the same gesture given to actual bodies in clinical practice. The wall carries these hugs proudly.
