The hand symbol in the icon of The Dormition of the Mother of God by Srđan Radojković

Abstract

The symbol of the hand appears in the early stages of human culture as a representation and a symbolic resource. Over time, that symbol has taken on different meanings becoming a complex intersection of sociocultural mediation and symbolic interaction. In The Dormition of the Mother of God icon by Srđan Radojković, the hand symbol stands out among other dominant symbols. What meanings does that symbol bear and invoke? In the paper, we point to the originally Christian, biblical, New Testament meaning of that symbol, but also to the broader sociocultural perspective in which its various meanings are constituted. The artist consciously introduced the symbol of the hand into the foreground of his artwork, guided by his intention and idea. Nevertheless, possible meanings are completely open for further symbolic development, as well as for the processes of personal experience and assigning different layers of meaning, independent of the author's intention. In these processes, the symbolism inherent in the early stages of human culture is transmitted and developed, continues to work in contemporary situations and is preserved for future periods of culture, communicating with different cultural contexts. The symbols of the hand and the open palm connect us with the days of Jesus Christ's earthly mission, as well as distant prehistory and mysterious cave paintings, and also with far-Eastern concepts about the connection between the nervature of the hand and the brain processes, confirmed by contemporary neurological research. At the same time, the outlined symbols open the way to philosophical considerations of the phenomenon of human hands, aimed at researching the fundamental concepts of human corporeity, as well as the mental and physical plan of human existence in general.