Varada / hinþaną

The word “hand” comes from a proto-germanic word “handuz” which some etymologists believe to be derived from “hinþaną,” meaning to seize, take, or obtain. I find it interesting that since the earliest histories of the human hand (at least in the Western world) the hand has been associated with taking; there is a certain violence in it.

My piece reaches out and downward from a wall in the position of what is known as Varada Mudra in Buddhism, or segan-in, in zen Buddhism. This mudra is known as the wish-granting or gift-giving mudra where the open hand represents a sense of generosity and release.