Valerie Hammond

Valerie Hammond (1952– )

Valerie Hammond is renowned for her versatile use of diverse media. Her work explores the blurred boundaries between presence and absence, material and immaterial, the conscious and the unconscious. For Hammond, the act of making—the physical process of creation—is central, a way of intervening in and engaging with the world around us.

She has produced a series of works depicting highly realistic images of hands. Each hand was carefully traced from a living subject, capturing warmth, individuality, and intricate detail. For Hammond, the human hand is a portrait of the self. Through the physical process of creation, she reflects on how people labor and craft, how they connect and touch one another, and she seeks to capture fleeting moments suspended in the passage of time.

In her practice, hands are often intertwined with plants and flowers. She frequently gathers wild plants from New York City and its surrounding areas, weaving these natural elements into her works. To Hammond, plants are the body of nature: their veins mirror the veins of the human body, embodying both material and metaphorical, physical and spiritual correspondences. For her, nature and the human body are inseparably connected—a truth that applies to every individual.