Home
Arts and Gardens

The Ten Commandments in hands

Handshakes. Pointing. Grabbing. Stretching. With photographs of hands in these postures, Eirik Holmøyvik has illustrated the Ten Commandments. Each photograph introduces one chapter of the essay collection Dekalogen (Decalogue), which deals with the Ten Commandments in 13 essays on legal and religious issues. In addition to in the book, the photographs can be found in a corridor in the Juss 2 building.

Next
Eirik Holmøyvik: Dekalogen, 2008
Eirik Holmøyvik: Dekalogen, 2008
Photo:
Alf E. Andresen
1/6
Eirik Holmøyvik: Dekalogen, 2008
Eirik Holmøyvik: Dekalogen, 2008
Photo:
Alf E. Andresen
2/6
Eirik Holmøyvik: Dekalogen, 2008
Eirik Holmøyvik: Dekalogen, 2008
Photo:
Alf E. Andresen
3/6
Eirik Holmøyvik: Dekalogen, 2008
Eirik Holmøyvik: Dekalogen, 2008
Photo:
Alf E. Andresen
4/6
Eirik Holmøyvik: Dekalogen, 2008
Eirik Holmøyvik: Dekalogen, 2008
Photo:
Alf E. Andresen
5/6
Eirik Holmøyvik: Dekalogen, 2008
Eirik Holmøyvik: Dekalogen, 2008
Photo:
Alf E. Andresen
6/6
Previous

Main content

"Keep holy the Sabbath day" is illustrated by a pair of folded hands. It seems as if the owner of the hands might be tempted to twiddling their thumbs. "Honor your father and your mother" shows a small child's hand stretching up towards two adult hands holding each other. A big fist that squeezes hard, brutally around a wrist shows the message behind "You shall not kill." The fingers and palm of the attacked hand are stretched to their limits, a silent scream.

In the portrayal of "You shall not bear false witness" humor enters the picture. A fist is straining backwards, away from a hand that makes gossip signs. Which of the two are bearing false witness? "You shall not covet your neighbor's goods" is poetically illustrated by a fragile flower and a hand held up in protection against a greedy claw nearby. The symbolic hands are apt depictions of the Ten Commandments.

Eirik Holmøyvik (1978-) is a recreational photographer, in addition to his job as associate professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Bergen. As a photographer, he has a broad portfolio, mostly in film-based black and white photography. Holmøyvik has exhibited in Norway, England and USA, and has also done several magazine spreads, including the cover of Black and White Magazine in 2005. In 2011 he is listed in Art Domain's Who's Who in Visual Art - 100 Fine Art Photographers. 

NORA SØRENSEN VAAGE