March 28, 2024
Provided image/Fabric Workshop and Museum
Visitors to "Group Hug," the Risa Puno exhibit at the Fabric Workshop and Museum, must choose the "care for" path, which includes a Whac-A-Mole game, or "cared for" path, which features pod chairs.
On the eighth floor of the Fabric Workshop and Museum, visitors can play a classic arcade game, but their points translate into something very different than a numerical score.
"Group Hug," the ongoing interactive exhibit from artist-in-residence Risa Puno, uses gameplay to explore the complexities of giving and receiving care. Upon entering the colorful space, guests must choose to turn right ("care for") or left (be "cared for"). Those who choose the former grab a soft mallet and hit blinking bulbs, in the style of Whac-A-Mole. Those who choose the latter kick back in a plush chair nestled inside a hexagonal pod.
Each choice is linked to the experience on the other side of the room. As players to the right successfully tap targets, loungers on the left will notice their chairs recline further into the pods and gently rock as soothing ocean sounds play. The carers accrue additional relaxation time for their counterparts with each scored point, but once they lose a round — and just like Whac-A-Mole, the gameplay gets increasingly frantic and difficult — the chairs slowly snap back to their original form.
Puno is making a point: Caregiving is stressful work, requiring coordination between multiple parties. "Group Hug" also highlights the importance of community and looking out for one another. After the game ends, visitors follow the path to a structure modeled after the bahay kubo homes found in the Philippines. Inside it, they can read more about "kapwa," a Tagalog term referring to shared identity and the necessity of care, or roll a giant 20-sided die with questions to spark conversation. (Examples include, "Who cares for you?" and "Do you feel like your work for others is appreciated?") Puno, who is Filipinx, also includes personal details about her family that inspired the exhibit.
Risa Puno holds the 20-sided die and sits inside one of the pods from her 'Group Hug' exhibit.
Before guests reach the end, they encounter another set of pods and mallets, flipped to the opposite sides to allow the carers a chance to relax.
Interactive installations are something of a specialty for Puno, who also collaborated on a maze game with a tilting platform for "Most Likely to Succeed" at the Science Gallery Dublin. (Before players can begin, AI assesses their "abilities" and curbs their time accordingly.) "Group Hug" is her first museum solo exhibition.
According to staff, the current high score is 598, which translates to about 5 minutes and 43 seconds of pod time. Newcomers will have a chance to beat it until Sunday, July 21, when the exhibit closes at the Chinatown art museum.
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