Experimental hands #4-5
4 Leather palm - does a hand need to contain a part of your identity in order to experience an affinity towards it as belonging to you… secret details, such as your finger prints, for example? The stitching on the leather palm is a mirror image of the lines on Holly’s right palm. Padded leather was chosen to create softness and skin-likeness. The verdict?
Holly - “I don’t think this is necessary, it will become ‘mine’ anyway as I use it. I am never going to get my original hand back so I’d rather have something that is not trying to be like what I have lost.”
Also the leather felt a bit like plastic, perhaps nubuck or suede would feel nicer or avoid skins altogether. Holly kept turning it over in preference for the wooden side. Perhaps this hand is a little too creepy-looking as well… there were a few confused glances from others in the coffee shop which suggested that the appearance is too bizarre.
5 Transparent hand - what happens if you can see through your fingers? How does it change/ improve dexterity or delicate work? This first iteration is not yet articulated and has been cast from a real arm (see Casting Holly’s Arms). The top is hollow so you can slide your arm inside. During the casting process some of the resin started to burn and produced discolouration near the top.
Holly - “I love this arm, this is like a take on my phantom hand. It looks amazing and I like the way I can see my own arm through it. Also I like the discolouration - it looks like internal jewellery - you could cast any kind of jewellery you wanted into this arm or change the colour. I need an alter ego now to go with my Phantom Hand!”
The overwhelming discovery was not so much about the fingers but in the way the object presented the arm inside and internal workings in a stunning way. Although it is a very detailed copy of a human hand, the frosted appearance from the skin detail dissipated the light like an ice sculpture. One of the baristas was so amazed that he came over to touch it. Perhaps a hand like this doesn’t have to function in a practical way, it can exist to do one thing really well like hold a champagne flute in an amazing way :-)
You can see Holly’s alter-ego in just for fun
