Collected ways of doing things

Collected ways of doing things is an online interactive database which contains recordings of people performing hand movements. You can access the artwork here

https://archive.annamacdonaldart.co.uk/http___www.annamacdonaldart.co.uk/Hand_Dances/collected-ways.html

This work is about looking for patterns and matches across materials and people. It invites the viewer to think about how much complexity we can hold in our movement, creating time for the eye to attune to difference and connection.

The artwork consists of a star map full of numbers and words. Each number contains a hand dance, donated by a member of the public, which was recorded as part of their participation in a live performance of Ways of doing things, which began in November 2021. Each time the work is performed the collection grows. Interspersed in the collection, are images of trees that you are invited to place alongside the images of hands. Whilst some of the hand and tree videos are silent, others contain ambient sound or sporadic recordings of people speaking about matching and searching for connections. These voices come from conversations about giving, matching and receiving with scientists and organ donor recipients.

You can find out more about the performance project that led to this work, Ways of doing things, led by Wellcome Sanger and funded by Wellcome Trust at https://www.onecellatatime.org/exhibits/ways-of-doing-things/

• https://archive.annamacdonaldart.co.uk/h...
• https://www.onecellatatime.org/exhibits/...