Part of Pride&Privilege at The Class Act, New Art Gallery Walsall
Hand of Glory (in absentia) (2023)
Embroidery on recycled velvet with gemstone, pearl and ancient beads. Copper, antler and gemstone stand, 2015 penny, 1870 penny.
Walsall’s mythical ‘Hand of Glory’ captivated me as a child and was definitely the spark which began the More Than Human project. As a child i recalled it being mounted, in a splendid glass and velvet case, at the entrance to the museum. Of all the individuals I’ve encountered through this project, this was the one I wanted to venerate the most. I have, however, encountered difficulties in accessing this individual and opening a dialogue about this project with their custodians.
This work is a full scale embroidery of the individual in embroidery thread, gold thread, gemstone beads, pearls and ancient roman beads on a recycled velvet ground which was originally the arm of a jacket.
The stand is a bespoke copper tray made in the style of a medieval copper mitre which was also on display in the same building and was another object which captured my childish imagination. The antlers refer to the arm’s apparent discovery in the Whote Hart Pub, with the pennies representing the date of this (1870) and the date that the individual was removed from public display when Walsall Museum was closed due to austerity cuts (2015).
Vicky Roden 