Mechanical Hand

They say hands show the way one holds the world.

For the first time throughout this course, I can finally say I am satisfied my the final piece. Despite the fact of looking nothing similar to my original intentions, the changes undergone throughout the process have made the final piece, from my point of view, what one could call “a personal success”.

The main idea behind the project remains on the visual representation of a human hand, focusing on the mechanical joints that one can find within our body. Pictorially, the sculpture does not distance itself from it. Due the nature of the assignment, I was afraid of losing the main idea if I were to take the project far away from the original shape. It is for this reason that I decided to focus on portraying the simplicity of the human anatomy, representing it in the most accurate – yet simple – way. However, what else is the human body but complex?
If there is something I have learned is that, on occasion, less is more. Minimalism allows to achieve the desired neatness and simplicity through the use of geometric shapes and the absence of decoration. In the sculpture, in addition to the incorporation of these previous characteristics, the rough look yet moldable nature of the sheet metal does justice to the compact, moveable and smooth texture of the skin. The materials used to portray the hand’s inside – clay, bamboo sticks and rubber bands – allude to the softness and fragility of the body’s interior. Thus, the hand is represented as what it is; the connection of structures and textures in a close and living space.

Nevertheless, we should always keep in mind that the sculpture is a human hand, one that has to be strong and stable enough to hold life under itself. One that has to function as the most essential tool of the human body. One that represents one of the most complex natural structures, yet manages to keep it simple .

One that proves that, as wise men say, sometimes, less is more.