Help (Hilfe) 

Gerth Biese created this evocative print titled ‘Help’ using linocut. It depicts a boat at sea, where we witness an urgent plea for assistance. The raised hands are a gesture that resonates across epochs, from ancient Roman supplication to Christian art, where upturned palms signify piety and appeal to a higher power. Consider its presence in classical depictions of shipwrecked sailors beseeching the gods for rescue. This motif reappears in countless variations throughout art history, each time imbued with the primal human emotion of desperation and hope. The act of reaching out transcends cultural boundaries, tapping into a collective memory of shared vulnerability and the universal desire for salvation. Here, the image harnesses this psychological power. The composition, stark and fragmented, amplifies the emotional urgency. It’s a testament to the cyclical nature of human experience, forever resurfacing in our art, reinvented, and yet fundamentally unchanged in its emotional core.