the hands of the friends we've made

Friday 15^th June The hands of the friends we've made

Morning @ The Big Issue Office 9-12

The stories behind the rings, the life behind the hands, the marking, tattoos and nails.

Jaoa entrusted me with many details of his life captured here on his hands- as he reminisced he seemed to be taken to some where else, his face brightening and rising up in his seat staring into a space somewhere as a memory of his sister burst forth. He tried hard to remember where all his rings came from and the stories behind them.

I drew around his hands onto a mug and onto a plate- while holding and pressing his hands I felt a warmth between us, I sensed his vulnerability and the tremendous burden of his situation through the stories he told.

Blue inside my mug for sky... smiling

Jaoa's rings

Holding, containing, warm and cold, inside and outside, half full, half empty.

Claire Parker