Bárbara Ruiz

Life Through Hands

The main concept for this exhibition is hands in relation to human lives. Its aim is to explore the different emotions and ideas that hands can convey in art; for example, hope, death, and rebirth. What initially drew me towards hands in art was the almost touching hands in “The Creation of Adam” by Michelangelo. I came to the realization that hands are one of the most expressive parts of the human body; which led to hands becoming the main concept for this exhibition. The purpose was to depict complex human emotions and ideas by only using hands in collaboration with other symbols, such as light; a recurring theme throughout my exhibition. My goal for this exhibition was to depict a story through the use of hands in art.

The arrangement of the pieces is significant since I wanted them to represent the circle of life through hands. The exhibition opens with “Connection”, which is a recreation of “The Creation of Adam” in acrylic paint, symbolizing God giving life to mankind. In front of this piece is an installation, called “Humans and Nature” depicting the process of humans emerging from nature through evolution. Both of these pieces are representative of the beginnings of human life, therefore, I wanted the audience to view them first. The next piece is a color pencil drawing, titled “The Pearl”. The hands in this piece are protecting innocence, that of which is usually lost when one matures and becomes aware of the evils occurring in the world. This then transitions into a series of three photographs depicting the evolution of light. The hands in each of the photographs are symbolic of humans holding on to hope, despite living in a cruel world. The photographs are juxtaposed by a sculpture called “Inner Light” which is representative of the potential for goodness in all of humanity. The use of packing tape for the sculpture, which is transparent, allows the LED lights from within the sculpture. The last phase of my exhibition consists of two pieces that are indicative of death. The first is an ink and acrylic paint art piece titled “Bleeding Hand”, which signifies death and suffering that comes with it. The next and final piece, “Everything Must Come to an End”, contrasts the previous piece by illustrating the beauty of death and also symbolizing rebirth, which connects to the beginning of my exhibition. Additionally, it was made with ink and watercolor; the use of ink in both pieces also connects them. 

The first two pieces of the exhibition represent the birth of humanity, while the last two pieces represent death and then rebirth. Furthermore, the other pieces represent the other aspects of life, such as the loss of innocence and holding on to hope in difficult situations. Overall, the pieces and their arrangement help convey the circle of life, through hands, to the audience.