Alexanders Lover

Nicole Ellis, Rachel Farlow, Caroline McGregor and Joanne Makas. Curated by Zac Harold

Exhibition: 14 February – 3 March 2019

STACKS Projects

Entangled, 2018 

Video with sound, 19.29mins

Hands are instruments to execute action, our tools. From weaving, to spinning, to knitting to texting, human beings have always kept their hands preoccupied. Importantly, hand activity often takes place in conjunction with something else. There is listening and doodling, knitting and talking, praying and manipulating beads. We might use gestures knowingly and unknowingly as we communicate, but to be on the receiving end of speech involves the body. Can anyone be spoken to without moving their hands? The single most common recorded practice for the listening psychoanalyst is knitting. Psychoanalyst Anna Freud, daughter of Sigmund Freud, was famous for this, and she would even suggest that her students be taught weaving as part of their psychoanalytic training, in order to ‘balance’ the work of listening. 

In this video work, Entangled, the hands are busy disentangling chains as a metaphor for listening. Taking the time to slow down, stop rushing about and listen to the sounds around us. To stop and listen to our body and take note of the sensations we feel.