In 1944, Lerski returned to "Hand Portraits", originally conceived in 1930. This series depicted hands in action, but as staged activities. Hand, pars pro toto, were thus interpreted as symbols of human creations, as a tool of the creator. As in 'Everyday Faces' series, Lerski classified the hands by occupation, hoping to point to the idealized categories.
In this series Lerski turns the paper into skin: every fold, every muscle and even the bone structure become readable writing. This revelatory shaping of the surface is only possible through light art.