“Like a tree in Autumn, my soul is fading. Waiting for that day, when like a sun, my soul would shine again”. This is the poetic description of the image chosen by BE OPEN as the winner of HANDS, the call to action part of the Made In… program and preamble to the exhibition organised in the occasion of Expo 2015. Ibrahim Hammada, from Syria, is the winner of a three-day, all-expenses paid trip to Milan EXPO.
His image, a hand resembling a tree in Autumn, was considered by the jury to be the most representative of the general concept of the call-to-action. Elena Baturina, Founder of BE OPEN, says: “Ibrahim’s picture is the perfect representation of the link between humans and nature; it is powerful and delicate at the same time and it emerged for its thoughtful interpretation of the concept. We look forward to welcome him in Milan”.
BE OPEN has launched this global call for pictorial responses to the idea of hands as the preamble to “The Garden of Wonders. A Journey Through Scents”, BE OPEN’s major project for 2015: the Foundation will the world of fragrances by especially focusing on some historic brands which have disappeared,international excellences whose fame has decreased over the years because of a sometimes-too-aggressive global market.
Hands have been chosen as the subject for the call for action because they are the primal tools: powerful, practical, sensitive, spiritual. Kant described a man’s hands as his “outer brain”, while Jung remarked: “Often the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain.” Hands convey our moods, give emphasis to our speech; they allow us to grasp life, literally and figuratively.
The call-to-action has been very popular on the Foundation’s social network: posts from all over the world have been collected, highlighting the global significance of the theme. From the most exotic image of hands painted with henna to the most simple hands of a child; pictures of craftsmen working, as well as innovative and artistic collages.