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"To see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in
a wildflower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake
There are chakrahs in our hands, Jesus had nail holes in his palms, and a sign of worship is to stand with your palms raised. Fortune tellers read palms. Handwriting is analyzed to expose deep secrets. Man’s thumbs differentiate humans from lower species. Our hands are one of our most perceptive senses and still are used as a tool and a weapon, they can caress or crush. Hands build weapons yet heal the sick. Hands contain our absolute legal identities in the fingerprints. We control our world with our hands, and our hands are shaped by our world. We reach out with our hands and we sense the physical world with our hands.
These images of hands reflect the personality and the life of the subject. Lifestyle, work habits and sensitivity are revealed. Without the distraction of faces these images of hands are absolutely honest and deeply perceptive portraits.
I collaborate with my subjects to expose their hands and their personalities.
Using 19th century collodion wet plate photography I photograph their dominant hand, then we work together to make a photogram of their palm print. Combining these two images together with the person’s handwriting, I create one portrait of the subject. Both techniques have technical aspects which reveal more than conventional photography. The collodion plate is sensitive only to blue light, creating tonalities completely changed from how our eyes perceive light. The photograms reveal the texture and pressure of the hand on the paper, so the print is truly hand-made.
If you are interested in collaborating on this project, please
contact Bill
Portrait sittings at the artist's studio take about 90 minutes. Participants receive a complementary print of their portrait.