Amandine Freyed, Le premier geste, 2021

Everything begins with the hand. The origin of the gesture of help, of assistance but also all the others are confused with the origins of man. The artist has created his own encyclopedia of postures, devoid of their practicality. The hands are there, suspended in the texture of these old images. The archive is an excess of meaning, says Arlette Farge, where the reader feels beauty, awe and a certain emotional jolt. The first gesture presents much of Amandine Freyd’s collection of hands. These are taken from the archives of an old encyclopedia of first aid and medicine. “Palms, outstretched hands, shaking hands, hands slipping through hair, smoking hands, happy hands, wandering hands, hands washing hands, hands under hands, hands that are close together, hands that are screwing the pressure on, hands caressing snakes, hand games, right hands, two left hands, running hands.” Virginie Huet, excerpt from the afterword.