Life in Our Hands
Capturing unheard stories through sculpture
Life in Our Hands was a multimedia visual art exhibition that celebrated the people of the Yorkshire Dales and the stories they carry. Created by international award-winning artist Shanthamani M in collaboration with people from North Craven, the exhibition explored rural heritage, identity and change through sculpture, film and text.
The exhibition was presented at The Joinery, Settle Stories’ creative venue, and was open to the public until February 2020. Through a deeply personal and participatory process, Life in Our Hands offered rare insight into the lived experiences of a rural community and how life in the Yorkshire Dales has shifted over recent decades.
At the heart of the project was a series of intimate encounters. Shanthamani worked with nearly 30 people from a wide range of backgrounds, including farmers, mechanics and gravediggers. During each meeting, she cast the participant’s hands while filming their interaction. This physical act of touch created a sense of trust and closeness, allowing honest conversations to unfold. As participants spoke about their work, their lives and their relationship to the land, the artist took a physical imprint of the very hands that had shaped the landscape.
The resulting sculptures, accompanied by video and text, captured stories that are often overlooked: voices, dialects and forms of labour that rarely appear in official histories. Together, they formed a powerful portrait of everyday life in and around Settle, preserving experiences that are increasingly uncommon in a rapidly changing world.
Shanthamani’s practice is shaped by her upbringing in India, where modern and traditional ways of life exist side by side. Her work consistently explores culture, labour and the human body as a site of memory. She is widely known for her award-winning sculpture Backbone (2014), currently displayed at Aspinwall House in Kochi, India, as well as her solo exhibitions Neither Tree nor Ashes at the Suzanne Tarasieve Gallery in Paris and later work shown at the Saatchi Gallery in London. Although she had cast hands many times before, Shanthamani noted that she had never felt the power of the process as strongly as she did while working in Settle.
Reflecting on the project, she said:
“History is not only made of popular events, but is also shaped by individual life experiences. This project brings those stories together. Using art as a platform to connect communities was at the heart of this work.”
Life in Our Hands preserved stories rooted in place — stories spoken in local dialects, shaped by physical work, and carried in memory and touch. Visitors to the exhibition were invited to read, hear and see the voices of people who have contributed, often quietly and without recognition, to life in the Yorkshire Dales.
