The hug

Thalia Maria Bitha

Athens (Greece), 2021, digitale.

“Inspired by Klimt's painting The Kiss, the illustration depicts the most essential human interaction: The hug. It requires no words, and helps us convey emotions we cannot express in another way. A mother and a daughter, after a long time of avoiding physical touch due to the covid-19, are now both infected with the virus. They can finally hug each other, and they'll get through it together.”

“Since the covid-19 outbreak, I always had to be careful with my loved ones. For a very long time I stayed away to protect them. Then I got the covid-19 virus at the same time with my mother, and the first thing we did is to hug each other. I realized then that's what was missing from my life all this time.”