Various Elements from the Actual World 2009

Jimmie Durham's work, "Various Elements from the Actual World," is a map of the world, an atlas of cultural memory, laden with objects and signs. Here, the handprint is not merely a mark but a primal gesture, a human claim, echoed through millennia from cave paintings to contemporary protest. The handprint resonates with the *imago agens*, the active image that stirs deep within our collective memory. Think of the ancient Minoan frescoes, where the hand in motion conveys ritual and life force, or the Renaissance depictions of creation, where the divine hand imparts life. Durham pulls this ancient symbol into a modern context, a visceral reminder of our enduring connection to the past. It appears here, perhaps, as a warning, a sign of our deep subconscious, as a powerful force to engage viewers on a deep, subconscious level. It resurfaces, evolves, and takes on new meanings in different historical contexts.