Primary Research- TATE, Liverpool

'I Extend My Arms' 1931, Claude Cahun

I Extend My Arms is a black and white photograph showing a dramatically gesturing pair of arms apparently emerging from inside a stone monolith. A tanned female left arm, ornamented with three beaded wooden bangles on its wrist, extends from out of a large hole in the lichen-covered stone. Its partner – wearing a ring on its little finger – emerges from the other side of the monolith, which is of similar dimensions to a human body. The owner of the arms is standing behind the monolith so that her body is completely concealed; this creates the illusion that she is inside the stone or has somehow become fused with it. The simple upright block-like form, softened by many years of weathering, is tightly cropped into the picture frame. Brightly lit by full sun, it stands out starkly against a sepia-coloured blue sky. As the work’s title indicates, the arms extend outwards with spread fingers as though they are reaching out for something – possibly attempting.