Hands of a nation 2019 A portrait of the people and landscape of Iceland

In 2019 I was invited to join an artist friend to explore the possibility of creating a portrait of Icelanders, integrating palm readings, portraits and interviews as a way of exploring their character and culture. We travelled and talked to many remarkable people over two weeks as well integrating their por- traits, hands and the parallel harshly beautiful Icelandic landscape. Interestingly the gesture of having their palms read seemed to be a starting point for great conversations and to open up a willingness to talk about their relationship with their country and its significance for them. The work is ongoing but the interim essay has already been published in a beautiful book called ‘Hands of a Nation’.