Bani Abidi's Hand Gestures Expose Political Theatre

Berlin-based Pakistani artist Bani Abidi's photographic work 'The Reassuring Hand Gestures of Big Men, Small Men, All Men' (2021) deconstructs the performance of male power through repetitive hand gestures used by politicians across the spectrum, from Fidel Castro to Donald Trump. The work, commissioned by ArtReview for the Power 100 list, features gestures like pointing, saluting, waving, and punching, rendering them redundant through endless repetition. Abidi draws on Cicero's concept of 'corporeal eloquence' from 'De Oratorio' (55 BCE) to highlight how these gestures manipulate audiences. Her earlier work 'Death at a 30-Degree Angle' (2012), shown at Documenta (13) in Kassel, Germany, similarly critiques patriarchal politics via a fictional vignette set in sculptor Ram Sutar's studio. The exhibition version is part of Abidi's solo show 'The Man Who Talked Until He Disappeared' at MCA Chicago until June 5.