For Haendel, the act of drawing invokes the human impulse to leave a mark while also offering a physical system to reconsider accepted imagery. This exploration—of the act of drawing itself—has led the artist to examine the hand as a tool of creation, a means of expression and an organ of knowledge.

Over the past two years, the artist has been exploring portraiture through the drawn representation of his subjects’ hands. He started to create portraits of artist friends which are based in LA like Kaari Upson, Rodney McMillian, Math Bass, Emily Mast, Tala Madani. In a time of pandemic, racial injustice, climate crisis and civil unrest Haendel started depicting the hands of some of New York’s and Berlin’s most inspiring Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Christian and Sikh faith leaders, paying homage to a diverse group of pastors, imams, rabbis and priests who have shared vital resources—from wisdom and hope to food and shelter. Highlighting how these communities of believers are vibrant, welcoming and tolerant, the artist hopes to provide space for viewers to reassess their own systems of belief, embrace complexity and expand their acceptance.

The hands of religious leaders, as they pray or perform blessings or rituals, are filled with spiritual resonance, further compelling my interest in a time when faith in is short supply. And art across culture and time, from the hands of saints in Byzantine mosaics, to Buddha’s gestures in bronze sculpture, through to the mudras in Hindu iconography, have been filled with depictions of hands. This project continues that tradition, but with an emphasis on interfaith dialog and diversity.