About the HANDS Project
« The story of music through the story of the hands that make it »
When a photographer takes a portrait of a musician, he most likely pictures the face, or the musician with his instrument. “HANDS” is going another way. I picture the part of the musician that has a significant part on making the tone, playing the note, or initiating the sound – his hands.
Project Goals
1. Print A Book
My current plan is to release a book with a huge selection of pictures. This is only an idea yet, as I am quite busy with acquiring, shooting, retouching, printing, and all the stuff related to the exhibitions. Stay tuned for the HANDS Book!
The photo by the way shows Chuck Rainey and me. I was explaining my concept using a very early prototype of the HANDS book.
2. Prints & Exhibitions
I am always working on large printed versions (35″ x 20″) of selected hands that are exposed in galleries and music related places like jazzclubs and concert venues.
The collection of prints is currently more than 40 pictures, most with an accompanying live shot. If you are interested to expose them in your location please contact me.
For some high-res examples of the HANDS pictures, please visit the gallery.
3. Grow The Archive
The list of participating musicians is already way beyond 200. I am constantly looking for concerts that I like to visit, meet the artists and shoot their hands. So when you are out there on the road, close to my location, you might get a mail soon…
For a complete list of the participating artists please visit this page.
Upcoming Exhibitions
Leverkusener Jazztage
Nov. 2018
This is going to be huge. More details will follow, but a lot of HANDS will be exposed at the 39th Leverkusener Jazztage in November 2018.
Stay tuned for more details.
Past Exhibitions
21. Jazzfestival TU Dortmund
Jan. 21, 2017
40 large scale prints and a lot of accompanying stage shots will be exposed at the Jazzfestival of the TU Dortmund, Germany. Jan. 21, 2017 – Save the date!
DAS GREIF, Lünen
May to June 2016
The first official HANDS exhibition. Over 30 large scale prints were exposed in a Rock’s’Roll bar in Lünen, Germany from May to June 2016.
SUPER Coffee, Lagos
July to September 2016
The pictures were exposed in a nice shop for coffee, food, art and handmade products at the wonderful Algarve in Portugal from July to September 2016.
Artist Comments
Carla and I agree – the photos are wonderful! Thanks for including us.
Steve SwallowCongratulations on your beautiful work!
Jon GommDude…
Amazing!!! That came out great. I think it says it all!!
This is beautiful!! And BRILLIANT! Our hands say so much about us. So honored to be featured with some of my favorites and bass idols!
Nik WestThank you Marc for bringing all these epic hands together .. Honoured to be part of this beautiful project.
Tanya O’CallaghanEin sehr beeindruckendes Projekt.
Ufo WalterMy compliments on your aesthetic visioning book project. I am honored to be part of it.
Really excellent photography, Marc. Bravo.
The story of our music through the stories in our hands. Grateful to be a part of it!
Steve LawsonLove this. So great to be in the company of so many great musicians. Thanx Marc. This project is such a remarkable one!
Divinity RoxxThis is a beautiful project and it could not be in better HANDS.
Sari SchorrThe idea, in itself, might seem simple. These pictures, however, reveal a truly unique look at our last pitstop in human appendixes before bodily motions take over to vibrating strings, hitting drums, creating music, and, every once in a while, hopefully making some magic. HANDS is not only a fascinating study in human anatomy but also a captivating look of the relationship we have with our instruments. Every wrinkle on every hand tells a different story.
Jaan WessmannT-Shirts Available
The most iconic HANDS photo as artwork on a Classic Jersey T-Shirt made from 100% Combed Organic Cotton. Front side shows the hands of Bakithi Kumalo and Ana Orias Balderas. Backside shows the hands motto. Men’s M, L, XL and woman’s S, M, L available.
HANDS T-Shirt
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Maximum 2 mails per month, not more. Promised…!
About The Photographer
Marc Mennigmann
Photographer, Musician, Entrepreneur, whatever...
Marc Mennigmann (born 1970) worked as a session musician for piano and Chapman Stick in the 1990s and founded two companies which both still exist.
He started photography in the new millennium using medium format film and a Lomo camera, switching to digital years later.
Currently his main interest is taking portraits and, due he is still an active musician himself, shooting musicians on and behind the stage.
You can contact Marc on this page.
You still want more?
Gallery
Here you can see some high-res versions of the HANDS pictures.
Artists
A complete list of the artists already participating the HANDS project.
Making Of
Some infos about how the HANDS pictures are made, and a ton of making-of pictures.
Blog
News related to this project. Never miss any new artists added.