No matter how he has interpreted it, Bruce Nauman has always used the hand as a constant theme in his work. Through his photographs (e.g. Finger Trick with Mirror, 1967), videos, sculptures, neon lights (e.g. From Hand to Mouth, 1967) and prints, he has offered us multiple images of the hand.
The Fingers and Holes series consists of 8 prints representing Nauman's own hands. Opting for a kind of unusual self-portrait, the artist has engraved particular movements and positions. The fingers touch, graze and form combinations that led Nauman to think of this series as a topological study.
The largest work represents a chain of ten hands, a sort of vicious circle; the index finger of each left hand penetrating the void formed by the index finger and thumb of each right hand.
The Verso Recto series, on the other hand, shows only the fingers. The palm and wrist disappear; only the ten fingers of both hands are shown. They are placed side by side like suspects lined up for a lineup in a police station. One of the states (state II) shows the fingers printed as fingerprints...