Show of Hands

Captured without the use of digital manipulation, this project attempts to show the viewer a new way of experiencing the emotion of the human hand while exploring the flexibility of light painting. Light painting is a simple technique in which the camera’s shutter is left open for a suitable amount of time. Anything illuminated with light during this time will appear in the resulting photograph. Sometimes unsettling, this project relies on the practiced choreography between the hand and a small light, each part of the hand carefully “painted” into the camera's sight. These meticulously planned works can take days to prepare and rehearse, resulting in exposures measured in minutes. 

Always fascinated with hands; how they reflect personality and provide visual variety through motion; the artist warps anatomy into something unreal while still feeling natural. Taking cues from nature, especially the bonsai tree, these hands are meant to not only be emotive but representative of the surrounding world. Drawing from nature helps maintain familiarity despite the images’ distortion. Also inspired by the works of Egon Schiele and Francis Bacon, this project demonstrates that hands can communicate much more emotion once the limitations of realism are stripped away.  Finally, introducing the element of time through the suggestion of movement adds to the story of each image.