An open palm is a kind of paradox, isn’t it? It’s so inviting, so yielding: “Hands up, ” after all, is the international motion for surrender. But there’s also a parallel universe of symbolism—a sense of mystery—hidden within that soft flesh. There can be an appeal to divinity in the open palm, a belief in a higher power. Look at all those saints in Christian art, their palms raised to the sky as they exhort God. The open palm can This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-Five Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 50 Close Knit Close Knit: Meet the weavers keeping traditional Egyptian tapestrymaking alive. Arts & Culture Issue 50 The Old Gays Inside a Californian TikTok “content house” of a very different stripe. Arts & Culture Issue 50 New Roots The Palestinian art and agriculture collective sowing seeds of community. Arts & Culture Issue 50 Angela Trimbur An all-out tour de force. Arts & Culture Issue 50 Peace & Quiet In the UK, a centuries-old Quaker meeting house encourages quiet reflection. Arts & Culture Issue 50 Free Wheelers On the road with London’s Velociposse Cycling Club.
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