souvenir of dinard

It happened to be my left hand, which was not good since I'm left-handed... The doctors said I wouldn't be able to use it for 7 weeks! I have always been obsessed with medical drawings, so I saw this as a wonderful and, somewhat, painful opportunity to start a project.
I liked that I had to use my right hand, instead of my left hand, to draw and hold the camera.

It was a strange exercise not only for my hand but also for my brain: 'my left hand as recorded by my right hand' if you will... It was also a good way to continue working while I was recovering... The project was this: to record my hand along the different stages. From the swollen and broken beginning to hand therapy – complete with the mild electric shock treatment – and a wonderful hand made from a thermal cast (which in its own right is a work of art). X-rays and paraffin wax treatment... there really was an amazing visual wealth to feed from.

I wanted to produce images which had the feel of turn of the century medical drawings, only I was going to take photographs instead. Once all the images were taken, I downloaded them into my computer and set to work giving them an old look–complete with the words 'if I can get to the bottom of the road with my eyes closed, everything would be alright' a line from the film 'Billy Liar.' A line most fitting I thought...

I then produced many images (4 shown here) and many different sizes. The largest print is 10 feet tall. I also distressed the images with holes, rips and scratches to complete the aged look.