universe [held] Community Project

Welcome to the universe [held] Community Project.

This project will serve as a repository for community voices, as a part of the hand portrait series. I would love to know how you feel about your hands, and any stories you would like to share. These responses will be shared as a part of a future installation, and may be anonymously shared on my website. Please feel free to answer any of the questions that speak to you

Thank you for stopping by!

Artist Statement

Our hands are one of the most expressive parts of our body. They are integral to our work, our rest, our play, and our connections with other people. They are made from the same elements as earth, fire, water, and air, and as such, a constant reminder of our connection to nature. We use our hands intuitively every day, and amass a colossal and innate wisdom contained inside our skin. This series started as an intimate collection of hand portraits belonging to loved ones in my personal queer, trans, and Black, Indigenous, and Person of Color (QTBIPOC) community. Each pair reflected the unique fingerprint each person reflects in my life.  As I was making this series, I was struck by the radiance contained inside each set of hands, and the ever-shifting light surrounding them, a reminder of the abundance contained inside us individually and collectively.

I love the idea of ephemerality, and the beauty of a moment that does not last forever. Much of my recent work draws on themes of diaspora, found family, ancestors, and energy—all elements that are ever changing in nature. I was born in Singapore, a country not yet 100 years old, and I’ve lived many lives since. Sometimes the ghosts of these past lives manifest in different ways, their forms changing with the shifting of each season. Each pair of hands is painted in soft pastel, itself a fragile and ephemeral medium. The hands themselves are also transitory, and they are captured in this series as a moment in time. They will continue to change outside of these snapshots, learning new ways of being, finding paths forward and places of stillness in the midst of life’s chaos.

Artist Bio

Valerie Yeo (they/she) is a queer artist, community organizer, educator, and psychologist. Each of their identities informs the others, and are infused into their creative life. They create with mediums including oil and acrylic paint, soft pastel, digital art, and collage. Their work explores creative practice as meditation and intuition.