Lovely launch event at the Camden Image Gallery last week - so great to see all the work featured in this book in person, and to meet so many of the artists. The book arrived and is beautiful, I'm so pleased with how it has come together, and it is now being shipped out to places all over the globe, from Montreal to Morocco! Please order soon - this is a limited run.

Dane Cobain (the writer in residence at Wycombe Arts Centre and a radio presenter) recently reviewed 105 Artists' Hands:  http://www.socialbookshelves.com/cally-trench-105-artists-hands-review/

Also he interviewed Cally on his radio show - https://wycombeartsshow.buzzsprout.com/

​Thank you Dane!

Earlier in the month, our mini roadshow also took in Wycombe Arts Centre - thank you for for warm welcome and cake from Caro Eliot and other staff.

The book has been posted out to all who pre-ordered and we've been getting some lovely feedback. 

"A really rich selection of actions and identities." 
Annie Rapstoff, artist

"I'm so blown away by the illuminating writing and thinking about hands touch bodies creativity and making brought together here. And by how Cally's stunning hand portraits embody the life of the hand in our artist lives. Each photograph by Cally is an insight into the tactile inner worlds of making. I'm also somehow so moved by this book. By our togetherness in it. Our single body with multiple hands like so many feelers reaching out to touch the world and be touched by it." 
Salma Ahmad Caller, artist

"Cally's photographs are full of character, of the artist herself and of the artists whose hands she has photographed, and tell us something poignant, significant, and new about artists' hands." (Philip Lee, artist)
"The book is full of surprising, clearly carefully thought-out images, and I can see why you describe the photographs as having been 'made' rather than 'taken'. My favourite images/texts were those of your hands, Tony Moody, and Katrin Gaska (I love explosions of colour when done well). My award for the perfect text goes to the words by Steve Perfect, who knows how to startle and evoke, rather than merely describe."
Michèle Nayman, novelist and journalist

" ... so many rich imaginative sort of mini performances captured." 
John McDowall, artist

"What a splendid collection of images and thoughts about hands. Each page unique in its originality." 
Malgorzata Bialokoz Smith, artist

"Glorious! Magical images and such a good design." 
Julia Maddison, artist

"... lovely handfuls of words, photos and insights." 
Stephen Guy, artist

"It's rich in images, experiences, perspectives and stories." 
Ahmed Farooqui, artist

"The book is superbly put together; so well thought through in every way." 
Guy Tarrant, artist

‘105 Artists’ Hands: Touch Tell Create’ has been delayed slightly in production, and we now have a revised cover design, but we should have books ready for the launch. 

Which we now can't wait for on Sunday 1st August (2-5pm) at Space 36 (off Crouch Hill, London).

There is a full programme of readings and performances throughout the afternoon (not to mention tea and cake) so there is going to be so much to see and do. 

More information or RSVP to Cally by email at:
hello at callytrench dot co dot uk

Our hands keep us in touch – quite literally – with the world. They enable so much of that which makes us human: communication, creativity, comfort and self-care. Think of how we ‘handle’ others, issues, dilemmas and ourselves. Yet our hands in many ways are anonymous. They can be decorated or neglected, but as adjuncts to the rest of the body, mere accessories to the face.  

In this remarkable and original book, artist Cally Trench seeks to redress the balance.  

105 Artists’ Hands is a series of portraits of the hands of artists, not only demonstrating the palms, backs and fingers for what they are intrinsically, but also for what they represent.

The 105 sets of hands photographed in the book range from those at work to those on display, hands that are at rest to hands engaged in action. Some of the portraits are of hands which are holding objects that might relate to the artist’s purpose or personality – echoing perhaps the use of coded imagery often found in Renaissance painting. Other hands seem as though they are found objects in themselves, without connection to any specific body. They are full of personality but at times almost devoid of movement.
With each photograph comes a text written by its subject, exploring ideas around their hands: what use they are, how well they behave.

Spread throughout the book are poems and short stories, snatches of prose and additional art by the artists whose hands are represented. These, too, explore the power of hands – their reach and identity.
Cally Trench spent two years taking the photographs - visiting artists at their homes and studios, using the opportunity to engage with artists whose work covers a wide range of practice and subject matter. The book itself was brought together in lockdown, and the final set of hands are those of the book’s designer Jane Glennie, a fitting coda.

105 Artists’ Hands is a vivid, thought-provoking work, which challenges us to look at the world anew and to reassess how much our hands are part of us (or we just the extension of them). A book to hold on to.
 
Victoria Lambert, Education and Careers Editor for the Daily Telegraph and award-winning journalist

105 Artists’ Hands is due for publication in July. Pre-order now.

Thank you so much to all our supporters ... Cally Trench and I are so grateful to everyone who has thrown their hat into the ring and committed to ordering a copy of her forthcoming book.
​
We succeeded in our target for advance orders, and we are pleased to report that the book is currently in production.