WhichCraft 

1974

mixed technique 55x55x16 cm

Dedicated to Charles Chaplin

Hands have much power and many functions!

...The hand that signed the treaty bred a fever,
And famine grew, and locusts came;
Great is the hand that holds dominion over
Man by a scribbled name.

The five kings count the dead but do not soften
The crusted wound nor stroke the brow;
A hand rules pity as a hand rules heaven;
HANDS HAVE NO TEARS TO FLOW.

Dylan Thomas: ‘The Hand That Signed the Paper’

Charlie Chaplin’s film ‘Modern Times’ (1936) portrays the life of a 20th century industrial worker. The film shows how alienating and punishing factory work can be. In this picture, that alienation and punishment is associated with witchcraft, and underlines the difference between repetitive labour and the work of an artist’s or artisan’s hands.

A witch’s hand holds the manikin of a labourer brandishing a wrench, whilst the other hand sticks pins into this worker, as if casting a voodoo curse.