The Cabinet of Hands

Many of these hands apart from those of dolls are the hands of Fatima.


My favorite of which is the large wax hand on the top shelf behind the waving plastic ones.
This I purchased in Tavira ,Portugal. It is designed to encourage St Fatima to heal any ills your own hand might have. The trick is to approach the shrine of Fatima on your knees holding out the wax hand before you.


There were many other body parts available fashioned in wax for the same purpose. Feet,breasts,noses etc..


This wonderful store which sold all manner of Catholic statues agreed to sell me all their spare hands. The ones that had fallen of statues of Christ or the saints. 


Some of these remain in the cabinet but most became incorporated into a series of Assemblages I made during my visits to Tavira in the mid 90's. Finds from the flotsam and jetsam of Cacela Velha beach also feature.

Boxed in time

This box was made for the RCA Society Boxed In Time  exchange exhibition 2009

I found the shell on the beach on Ile d'yeu, France.The hand was donated to  my 'cabinet of hands' years ago by Zelda Malan . The bathers are from the 4D model shop and the box was found on Portobello Road market which i flocked with sand I have used in many of my animations over the years

These poor lost souls !

I wish I had never parted with them at that show which is not a sentiment in the spirit of the exhibition ..but there we go !

Nostalgia beach hut

Created for the Spring festival in Liseberg Park in Gothenburg , Sweden 2009. 

Above is a patchwork photo assembly of the balcony.

The brief was to decorate a balcony , one of six in competition, on the theme of Nostalgia.

I think I quite confused a lot of the visitors as balconies are for flowers ,not sand mermaids and shoals of memory bottles!

                                                        memory bottles in production

 tiny bathers populate the beach

  many thanks to my friends Lasse P for tirelessly cladding the hut for me, Emma C for lending me her vintage swimsuits and to my cousin David who introduced me to Liseberg