Hands

Juha Saari - Observations of Hominides

		Hand, grasping organ at the end of the forelimb of certain vertebrates, exhibiting great mobility and flexibility in the digits and in the whole organ. The major function of the hand in all vertebrates except man is locomotion; bipedal locomotion in man frees the hands for a largely manipulative function. The New Encyclopedia Britannica
Hominid, any creature of the family Hominidae (order Primates), of which only one species exists today - Homo Sapiens, or human beings. The New Encyclopedia Britannica The specialness of the human hand lies in the fact that the thumb has during development turned back towards the fingers. This is of great significance when seen in conjunction with the overall development of mankind. Millions of years ago, one of our predecessors detached himself from his tool user cousins and became a toolmaker. The physiological and evolutionary history of the hand is one and the same with the history of mankind. It´s development and skill aquisition are directly related to linguistic and intellectual development. From the accidental wooden tool user of our ancestors time we have developed into artists and craftsmen. The prehistoric artist showed their own reverence for the hand by perpetuating it on the walls of their caves, 40 000 years ago. I have photographed a great number of hands, those of friends, relatives and collagues. The images have been created with the help of a camera and a piece of black cloth, which I´ve spread on a surface and asked the subject envolved to place their hands on it. The hands have been photographed in the environment in which I´ve encountered them, at home, in the kitchen and at work. Additional lighting hasn´t been used, which is the reason for a certain irregularity in quality. However I wanted to work guickly and avoid giving restrictative directions to the subject. I´ve also attempted, through these hands and the positions they take up, to explain their personal relationship to me, the photographer. Are they peaceful, responsive or dismissive, perhaps someone has tried to be a little theatrical with their hands. These photographs of friends, relatives and working colleagues hands, are potraits. Everyones hands bare the marks of the kind of life they have lived, the passing years and the work they have done. One individuals fingers are scored and hooked through heavy labour whereas anothers are smooth and soft. The hands of children seem to await the forthcoming challenges. The individuality of the subjects has been stripped down to a minimum by standardizing their surroundings and the way they´re photographed. In this way the smallest incongruences between the hands and their owners becomes apparent. By comparing two similar images the viewer begins to detect differences and personal attributes. Hands are more open to interpretation than faces, of which we´ve learned to make quick iconographic judgements. Hands are more active, more complex and through them we percieve the personality and presence of their absent owner. Technically the images have not been produced in the traditional 'dark room' way. The film negatives have been scanned into the computer through a desktop filmskanner. The images have then been retouched and enhanced using an image manipulation program. The final images haven't been exposed onto photographic paper but have been printed on, using an inkjet printer. I wanted to experiment with new technology yet produced a traditional photograph exhibition.