Upcoming exhibition opening - “At Least 4 Hugs per Day, at Least 30 Seconds Each” by Maja Spasova and Iris Dittler
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The State Institute for Culture under the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in partnership with the Austrian Cultural Forum - Sofia, are pleased to present the exhibition "At Least 4 Hugs Per Day, at Least 30 Seconds Each" by Maya Spasova and Iris Dittler.
In a world increasingly mediated by digital interactions, where presence is fragmented into pixels and gestures are reduced to data points, this exhibition “At Least 4 Hugs Per Day, At Least 30 Seconds Each” reclaims the body as a site of presence. In it each artist explores the urgency of touch—not only as a mere sensation (A 30 second hug reduces the stress hormone cortisol and releases the happiness hormone oxytocin), but as something that fundamentally shapes our being in the world. The exhibition invites a renewed exploration of the relationships that bind us—between the self and the other, and between art and its audience. The human hands, both engines and tools of heart and mind, express the very core of human existence - giving and receiving. Today, as much as throughout human history, our hands giving and receiving, are what defines us as being human.
Through photographs, drawings, installative works and performative interventions, the exhibition investigates the phenomenology of touch, embracing themes of longing, love, loneliness and alienation. It asks: How does touch shape our understanding of self and other? How do we experience closeness in a world where distance is both enforced and abolished by technology? And can touch become (an existential act) a form of healing, carrying transformative potential? The body is porous, responsive, and in constant dialogue with its surroundings. Through their works, Maja Spasova and Iris Dittler immerse viewers in a sensory experience where the boundaries between self and other blur. They invite visitors to engage physically, embracing tactility as both a mode of perception and a form of resistance.
The exhibition does not propose a return to an idealized past but rather an exploration of how bodies – desiring, grieving, sensing – persist in a world that often renders them obsolete. In this context Maja Spasova and Iris Dittler explore the intersections between their artistic practices and media, engaging in a dynamic dialogue that creates a shared space of creative exchange and discovery.
Maja Spasova has been presented at international exhibitions and festivals such as Venice Biennial, ARTEC Nagoya, Dak’art Senegal. She has more than 100 solo shows at art museums and galleries in Europe and overseas. The artist has realized numerous art projects in urban public space and is represented in public and private collections all over the world. Maja Spasova´s work can be described in many ways. One being different systems or parameters meeting temporarily to create new spaces. In her videos, performances and installations Maja Spasova creates both nearness and fruitful disorder.
Through her practice of repair, Iris Dittler explores the intricate interplay between bodies and their environments. Her "performative objects" — crafted from glass, wool, latex and metal — act as instruments that investigate bodily space, revealing new perspectives. Rooted in physical-psychological contexts and the history of medicine, her work challenges conventional understandings of the body, inviting a deeper reflection on its perception and boundaries.
The exhibition can be viewed until May 7, 2026 at the "Mission" Gallery on weekdays from 10:00 to 17:00.