PHOTOGRAPHY. SHAPED BY IDENTITY, CARE & CONNECTION
Hands of Compassion emerged from an early dream of one day offering funeral photography — a thought that first took shape during the opening weeks of his degree, while he was still discovering the kinds of stories he wanted to tell.
In the process, it dawned on him quite how overlooked hands are — how much they carry, and how rarely they are seen with the same weight as faces.
The collection of hands are work draws inspiration from Eve Arnold’s quiet empathy, and Tim Booth’s A Show of Hands, which recognises the hand as a vessel of memory and labour.
Michael Rosen’s reflections on care and survival during the COVID-19 pandemic added further resonance, reminding him how deeply entwined gestures of touch are with endurance and loss.
The series was photographed with a 50mm prime lens, chosen for its closeness to the way we see, and a shallow depth of field that isolates the yet still gives way to context and identity.
This was less about technical flourish than about presence — letting the hand become the storyteller.
At its heart, the project focuses on those who provide care in the moments leading upto and after end-of-life, whose hands embody tenderness, resilience, and remembrance.
Each image honours the quiet gestures of care — holding, supporting, and letting go — in moments where humanity shows itself most clearly.