A new experiment

I’ve been working on expanding the Mudras works to include what I call portraits. These are images of other people’s hands and then my zen interpretation of that person.

Our way of communicating isn’t limited to words on a blank screen, let alone the noise that comes from our mouths. I’d argue much more of a story is told in how we use our hands and our bodies to convey our selves.

This concept developed as my dad was dying. I took photos of him to capture his transition from this world to where ever it is we go, consciousness goes after so many years of life.

I started the series using the hands of a dear friend, Miguel, who also is afflicted with Parkinson’s. I asked for some images of his hands, shaking and all. What he sent in response was a beautiful performance video of his hands in motion and experiencing the shaking so typical of his condition. From there, I pulled several stills from the video and went to work.The title of the work reflects our friendship and humor.

After Miguel’s portrait, I felt confident enough to sit down and work on the piece I created as a requiem for my dad. This work required the cooperation of my siblings and nephew. In fact, the work is representative of the family lineage.

In order to start a portrait, I ask the proposed subject a few things about shapes, preferred colors, and so on. What makes this portraiture work is my intimacy with the subject, who is either family or friend.

It is my desire to move this group of imagery beyond my circle of influence and into new territory with people I don’t know, by taking commissions.