High Five
Toasting NOWNESS’s upcoming fifth anniversary with a hand gesture

Whether gazing out of a train window, looking across a busy restaurant or staring down a bustling sidewalk, our lives are often spent observing others’ disposition through their body language. In 1958, the discerning Italian artist Bruno Munari nailed the visual interactions of southern Europe in his book Speak Italian: The Fine Art of the Gesture, and today director Jonas Lindström draws on Munari’s volume as an inspiration for his 21st-century guide to gesticulation. The five-finger vignettes herald a week-long celebration on NOWNESS, commencing next week. As the maxim goes: looking back is often a way to look forward.

Most overused gesture?
Jonas Lindström: Getting my cellphone out.

One never mastered?
JL: Handshake with a finger snap-out.

Always like to see?
JL: No hands – lips instead.

#5yearsofNOWNESS runs March 16 – 20