The End of the Handshake

By Ginger R. Burrell
Morgan Hill, California: Midnight Moon Press, 2020-2023. Edition of 23.
4.5 x 6.25"; 15 pages (unnumbered). Accordion structure. Black and white photographs. Archival inkjet printing on Epson Premium Presentation using Birch Std font. Bound in black cloth over boards with round white title label on front board. Colophon presented in round matching label on back board. Numbered. Signed by the artist. Slipped In resealable plastic bag with red and black biohazard symbol.
 
Ginger Burrell: “The Covid-19 pandemic made us re-think so many of our behaviors: grocery shopping, in-person offices, public transit. But most of all, the pandemic changed the way we greet and comfort one another. Handshakes became nods, or salutes, hugs became crossed arms over our chests or hands matched - touching through glass. Kisses were often mask-to-mask or not at all. Even with the Covid-19 pandemic officially ‘over,’ most of us still ask before greeting in any manner that involves close proximity. Gone are the days when we automatically extend a hand to shake or open our arms to hug. Will this be generational? Is it a fundamental change to our social construct? ‘The End of the Handshake’ documents the many different kinds of greetings we’ve tried and adapted to replace traditional ways of touching, of affection, and of social bonding."
 
Colophon: "Photographs are of my brother's family who was sheltering in place during the Covid-19 pandemic. Photos were taken at a distance of more than six feet and we all wore masks."
 
The photos demonstrate ten sets of greetings while masked from "The Wave" to "The Hip Bump".