This is the Hand. The Hand That Takes.

In this photo series, each image is a visual representation of a lyric from Laurie Anderson’s 1982 album Big Science. This series was created using paper cutouts and flashlights. The use of shadows was inspired by the “O Superman” music video. The images were edited using Polarr to create darker shadows and add effects. The first image is taken from the outro of “O Superman,: in which Anderson takes the phrase “So hold me mom” and warps a warm motherly image into an omnipotent overseer. More powerful than humanity, but not unkind. The hand was placed on a clear screen to cast the shadows. The second image “Here Come the Planes” is quite literal. The planes were suspended on the clear screen and layered with a fringing effect in post-production to give them a more warped, digital feeling in line with the ambiance of the album. The final image in the series is inspired by Anderson’s quip in “Let X=X”: “Cause I can see the future and it’s a place about 70 miles east of here.” The image is partially inverted, which makes the light source appear to be in the wrong place relative to the shadows. This alludes to the way Anderson warps the familiar to create an alien feeling in the album.