The Space Between Held Hands

The Space Between Held Hands

An otherwise invisible space, two hands united represents a haven of refuge and a place of solace. Created in partnership with the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia, this work was generated using the hands of our newest Canadians who arrived in 2016 through the Syrian Resettlement Program. Working with these participants, the clasped hands of family members were cast from life, giving form to the negative space between their palms. Visible are the lines, ridges, and fingerprints unique to each participant. Yet these marks are familiar and recognizable by all. These hand casts give form to the distance, proximity, and connectivity between these families. This work is social in its process, encouraging engagement and community connection.

Grouped by family, casts are arranged right to left in reference to the Arabic language and in acknowledgement of the universal language of art.

Artist Biography

A fourth-generation Canadian, Charley Young is an interdisciplinary artist, originally from Calgary, Alberta, living in Bedford, Nova Scotia. Charley holds an MFA from the Maine College of Art and a BFA from NSCAD University, where she is Regular Part-time faculty. Young’s practice combines site-based and indexical modes of making through printmaking, drawing and sculpture. She uses textures found within natural and built environments to record unique impressions of places in transition. A tool for connection, her work often invites participation in socially engaged and public projects.

CIRCA art actuel is proud to collaborate with the CARI St-Laurent for the organization of mediation workshops for this exhibition project. The mediation project is funded under the Agreement on the Cultural Development of Montreal and the Government of Quebec.

Photo credit : Katie Nakasa and Jean-Michael Seminaro
Video credi : Samuel Alie