A Deck of Hands
This project originated out of a desire to explore visual symbols by rethinking the traditional pack of playing cards. Playing cards generally use symbols to represent the four suits, numbers to represent the value of the pip cards, and symbolic imagery as well as letters to represent the court cards. I wanted to see if it was possible to create a deck of cards that relied entirely upon symbols — no letters or numbers. Instead, I used subtle wordplay and visual association to communicate meaning. The idea to use hands to represent card value came from the phrase “a hand of cards,” and numbers in this deck are represented by how many fingers are being held up.
The drawings of hands began to take on new meaning to me over the course of this project, as due to a work injury my hand was injured so badly I couldn’t draw for months. Returning to the cards after a long hiatus, I was struck again by the centrality of the hand to my art practice, which is concerned with handmade objects as much as drawing and painting. The hand is a motif about the process of creation. These cards were cut and shaped one by one over hundreds of hours, using risograph printing, screenprinting, and cyanotype to create an edition of 10 decks. All of these different methods of printing are variable, hands-on processes that have combined to make each deck a unique art object. They can be used to play any card game or for personal divination.
