Description
artist talk synopsisRecently in Melbourne, Australia, ¬residents experienced a 112-day hard lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While many people experienced great hardship at this time and continue to do so, Ringholt became aware of several benefits of the lockdown. One of these was the great relief to not have to touch people in greeting where the handshake is usually the cultural norm for men in Australia. The handshake became surpassed by a foot tap or elbow bump. Ringholt’s presentation considers the ubiquitous handshake with its roots in violence and, more centrally, the offensive and assaulting finger gesturing and actions he has experienced. He recounts his digit stress - the unwanted stress caused by sexualized and assaulting fingers. In the presentation he also discusses a more general set of insulting hand and finger gestures used across the world. Ringholt also briefly considers the history of hand gestures including hand gestures used in public protest and meditation. Warning - the subject matter and frank nature of the presentation may cause discomfort and stress to some viewers.
| Period | 12 Dec 2020 |
|---|---|
| Held at | Castello di Rivoli Turin (Rivoli Turin Castle), Italy |
| Degree of Recognition | International |