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Hand of the Philosopher is a photographic self-portrait series by Lady Alchemy, exhibited at Art Basel in 2021. The work draws from the alchemical emblem known as the Hand of the Philosophers, a symbolic diagram historically used to convey the principles of the Great Work. In this tradition, the hand functions as a visual system through which inner transformation is organized and understood.

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In the emblem, each symbol positioned above the fingers carries a specific philosophical meaning. The crown beneath the crescent moon signifies sovereignty over the unconscious and the ordering of instinct through awareness. The six-pointed star signifies the union of opposites, a central alchemical concept associated with psychic integration. The sun signifies illumination and the emergence of consciousness. The lantern signifies discernment and guidance during periods of obscurity. The key signifies access to hidden knowledge and initiation. At the center of the hand, the fish signifies immersion in the unconscious and the generative depths from which transformation arises. Fire within the palm signifies psychic energy as the activating force of change.

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Lady Alchemy reinterprets this emblem through contemporary photographic self-portraiture. By transferring the symbolic structure of the hand onto the body, the work brings alchemical knowledge into the present through image, gesture, and surface. The hand functions as both image and site, situating transformation within lived perception.

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Within Lady Alchemy’s broader practice, Hand of the Philosopher connects alchemical philosophy to contemporary beauty and image-making. The series treats refinement as a disciplined inner process enacted through the body, positioning transformation as embodied experience within modern visual culture.