Handprint on Rusted Metal Surface

Handprint on Rusted Metal Surface is a raw, powerful image of a human trace left on weathered steel. A pale handprint, its fingers spread wide, sits on a dark, mottled ground of rust brown, charcoal and orange, while loose spirals and lines in cream and pale blue curl out from the palm. In his Surfer Art series, Tim Burns turns his camera on the painted and weathered surfaces of coastal life. As in all his work, he does not stage the scene; he finds it. Rust, chipped paint and time have done the composing, and his eye frames it so that it reads like a primal mark, close to a cave painting or a piece of street art. The image speaks of presence, of someone who was here. Its textures, rich in browns and earthy oranges, feel almost tactile, an echo of Tim's training as a ceramic sculptor. Printed behind acrylic glass, it makes a bold statement in a loft, studio, office or any modern space with an industrial edge.