Grab free hugs at the Singapore's World Hug Day

Hugging strangers is an act that lies somewhere between crazy and criminal.

But call hugging an art performance and suddenly the whole thing takes on a different meaning.

The public art performance -- World Hug Day -- initiated by Chinese artists Gao Zhen and Gao Qiang (aka the Gao Brothers) is all about expressing love for each other.

World Hug Day activity is carried out by a large group of strangers who pick a random person for a 15-minute embrace. The group then huddles together for five minutes, all in the name of removing discomfort.

Initiated in 2000, the act has traveled to Japan, Hong Kong, the United States, United Kingdom and Europe. Now it’s here in Singapore.

CNNGo: What inspired the creation of World Hug Day?

Gao Brothers: We all desire to love and embrace, but this desire has often been suppressed, alienated or put aside due to the discomfort of expressing our love.

Hugging is an easy yet difficult task, so we felt the need to mobilize people to better express those desires and prove that hugging strangers should not be that awkward, especially in Asia.

CNNGo: Hugging is a very intimate act. How do you get strangers to participate and how does it change the participants?

Gao Brothers: We got public participation mainly through the news, media, Internet and word-of-mouth.

One time a British man emailed us after seeing reports of our efforts to advocate hugging. He told us that he was moved to hug a brother with whom he had hostile relations for many years.

CNNGo: Over the years, what’s been the largest number of huggers?

Gao Brothers: We don’t know the exact figures, especially with unreported cases.

In 2003, we scheduled 10,000 participants to hug at Jianwai SOHO, Beijing. Even though it was an official event, only a minority actually embraced one another while the rest were shy and self-conscious.

So, we individually hugged each of the 10,000 instead. Not everything goes according to plan.

CNNGo: How has the event changed since it started in 2000?

Gao Brothers: When we first started, we convened more than a hundred strangers (some of whom were paid) for the event.

After which, we readily went out to the streets to hug strangers in a way similar to the rampant “free hugs” that we see nowadays.

Because everyone shares the same sense of loneliness, alienation and the desire to love, the only change that has occurred so far in our worldwide effort is how we hug each other. The concept behind it has otherwise remained consistent.

CNNGo: Why should we join World Hug Day?

Gao Brothers: British poet W.H. Auden once said: “We must love one another or die.”

World Hug Day will be held Saturday, January 14 at the Events Plaza at Marina Bay Sands. To RSVP, volunteers can "Like" World Hug Day’s events page at www.facebook.com/vueprivee/events or via rsvp@vueprivee.com.

In addition, Vue Privee will be hosting the Gao Brothers’ multifarious art work at Art Stage Singapore (Booth No: A6-02) from January 12-15 at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre. An extension of their work -- “Staging Art” -- will be exhibited (January 13 to February 29) alongside Burton Machen (USA) and Aiman (Singapore) at Vue Privee’s gallery located at 20 Cairnhill Road.