Talking Hands by Zoya Martin
at Louis Joel
Left to right:
“Sometimes I’d hold the hand of the mum delivering her baby — dad’s weren’t allowed in the delivery room. Sometimes the babies would come flying out — they’d have all that goo around them. We didn’t wear gloves, we’d just use our hands without any protection, but we had good hygiene.”
– Moira, Nurse at the Altona Hospital from 1977 until its closure in 1996
“My hands direct me. They synchronise with the tidal motion of the breath. My hands feel wholeness. They help to restore the patient’s shelter. It’s like one big drop of liquid light floating.”
– Heather, Registered Osteopath, Lecturer in Osteopathy
“My mind does all the complex stuff. My hands are just robotic tools…simple mechanical devices…typing, tidying, keying in, putting books back in their place. I’ve gotten papercuts before — probably the biggest danger.”
– Anya, Library Customer Service Officer
“Everything you shaped was shaped by hand — the keel, the stem, the transom — all by hand. It’s mechanised now. We used to cork the deck by hand, it used to take weeks. It was hard work.”
– John, Boat builder for 54 years