The exhibition project Jordemor is a reflection on the work of the hand. The classical understanding of handicraft or craftsmanship is that of a skilled person who, through manual force, creates an object for decoration and utility. With this definition, many professions are overlooked, where the skill and knowledge of the hand make the difference between life and death. From the skilled surgeon, the gentle hands of the care assistant, to the experienced park worker’s grasp—these are all forms of work where the hand’s skill and knowledge are decisive. At a time when death, war, and rearmament dominate the center stage, it is urgent to highlight how the skill of the hand can bring life, both in a literal and a figurative sense.

In one of the project’s central works, my mother’s aged hands are shown, marked by hard work at Södersjukhuset’s maternity ward. Through these hands, the gaze is turned toward all professional categories that quite literally hold life in their hands. At the center of the midwives’ brooch is the tree of life; therefore, one human hand has created a combination of culture, nature, plant, and human at the core of the installation. The tree of life as a hybrid of human intervention and organic life.

In reflections on life and creation, it cannot be overlooked how the eye’s interaction with the hand makes it possible for us to participate in the world. With closed eyes, our possibilities become different. When we close our eyes, we shut off parts of perception; the eyes are spared from seeing, and we are freed from responsibility and the demand to participate. We also leave our faces open to the gaze and judgment of others. By depriving ourselves of sight, we also lose the possibility of meeting the gaze of another, of being a human among humans.