At a glance
Hand shadowgraphy
- Materials: Bare hands only
- Screen: Any wall or flat surface
- Light: Single point source (flashlight, lamp, candle)
- Also called: Shadowgraphy, ombromanie
- Documented history: 18th century onward
- Key text: Bursill, Hand Shadows to be Thrown Upon the Wall (1859)
- UNESCO status: None
- What Shadow Pals teaches: This
Shadow puppet theater
- Materials: Flat figures carved from leather, hide, or card, mounted on sticks
- Screen: Translucent cloth or paper screen
- Light: Oil lamp, candle, or electric light behind the screen
- Also called: Shadow play, wayang, piying xi, Karagoz
- Documented history: Over 1,000 years
- Key traditions: Indonesian wayang kulit, Chinese piying xi, Turkish Karagoz
- UNESCO status: 5 inscribed traditions
The family tree of shadow play
Both hand shadows and shadow puppet theater belong to the same family: the art of creating images with light and shadow. But they branched in very different directions.
Shadow puppet theater developed in Asia over a thousand years ago. The oldest documented tradition is Indonesian wayang kulit, dating to around 850 AD. Chinese shadow puppetry emerged during the Song Dynasty (960–1127 AD). Turkish Karagoz and Cambodian Sbek Thom developed independently. Each tradition uses carefully crafted physical figures — carved, painted, and jointed — manipulated by a skilled puppeteer behind an illuminated screen.
Hand shadowgraphy took a different path. The earliest documented evidence dates to the 18th century in Europe. It became a recognized performance art when Felicien Treweybrought it to the music hall stage in the 1870s and 1880s, reportedly creating over 300 distinct figures using only his bare hands. Where shadow puppet theater requires craftsmanship and specialized materials, hand shadowgraphy requires nothing but a light and the performer's body.
Today, shadow puppet theater is a UNESCO-protected heritage art form in five countries. Hand shadowgraphy has no UNESCO designation, but it continues as a living performance art — most notably through artists like Drew Colby, who set a Guinness World Record in September 2024 for the largest projected hand shadow at the IMAX in London and has performed with the Royal Ballet and Opera.
UNESCO-inscribed shadow puppet traditions
All UNESCO designations are for rod and flat puppet traditions, not hand shadowgraphy.
| Tradition | Country | Year inscribed |
|---|
| Wayang puppet theater | Indonesia | 2003 |
| Sbek Thom, Khmer shadow theater | Cambodia | 2008 |
| Karagoz | Turkey | 2009 |
| Chinese shadow puppetry | China | 2011 |
| Shadow play | Syria | 2018 |
Key figures in hand shadowgraphy
1859
Henry Bursill
Published Hand Shadows to be Thrown Upon the Wall, the first instructional text on hand shadowgraphy. Established the rabbit as the traditional first figure. The book is freely available on Project Gutenberg.
1870s
Felicien Trewey
French entertainer who elevated hand shadowgraphy from a parlor amusement to a professional stage act. Performed in music halls across London and Paris, reportedly creating over 300 distinct figures. A contemporary and friend of the Lumiere brothers.
2024
Drew Colby
British hand shadow artist. Set a Guinness World Record in September 2024 for the largest projected hand shadow at the IMAX in London. Performs internationally, including collaborations with the Royal Ballet and Opera. One of the only full-time shadowgraphy performers working today.
Where Shadow Pals fits
Shadow Pals teaches hand shadowgraphy — the bare-hands branch of the shadow play family. The iPhone app coaches you through animal figures with real-time hand tracking.
Frequently asked questions
Definitions
What is the difference between hand shadows and shadow puppets?⌄
Hand shadows (also called shadowgraphy or ombromanie) use only bare hands to cast silhouettes on a wall. Shadow puppet theater uses flat, cut-out figures — often made of leather or card — mounted on sticks and projected onto a translucent screen. Both use light and shadow to create images, but hand shadows require no materials at all.
What is shadowgraphy?⌄
Shadowgraphy is the art of creating recognizable images using only your hands and a light source. The term combines 'shadow' with the Greek suffix '-graphy' (writing or drawing). It is also called ombromanie, from the French for 'shadow madness.' The art form became a recognized stage act in 18th-century Europe and was popularized by Felicien Trewey in the 1870s and 1880s.
History
How old is hand shadowgraphy?⌄
The earliest documented references to hand shadowgraphy date to the 18th century. Henry Bursill published Hand Shadows to be Thrown Upon the Wall in 1859, the foundational instructional text. People have likely cast shadows with their hands for far longer, but there is no documented evidence of hand shadowgraphy as a recognized art form before the 1700s. This is much younger than rod and flat shadow puppet theater, which has over a thousand years of documented history in Asia.
Are any shadow puppet traditions UNESCO-protected?⌄
Yes. Several shadow puppet traditions are inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage: Wayang puppet theater (Indonesia, 2003), Sbek Thom Khmer shadow theater (Cambodia, 2008), Karagoz (Turkey, 2009), Chinese shadow puppetry (China, 2011), and shadow play (Syria, 2018). All of these are rod or flat puppet traditions, not hand shadowgraphy.
Traditions
What is wayang kulit?⌄
Wayang kulit is a traditional Indonesian shadow puppet theater that uses intricately carved and painted leather figures, controlled by sticks, projected onto a white cotton screen lit from behind. Performances are accompanied by a gamelan orchestra and can last several hours. The tradition dates back to around 850 AD and was inscribed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2003. It is a rod puppet art form, not hand shadowgraphy.
What is Chinese shadow puppetry?⌄
Chinese shadow puppetry (piying xi) uses flat figures made from donkey or ox hide, carved into detailed silhouettes and painted in bright colors. The puppeteer manipulates them behind a translucent screen with rods. The tradition dates to at least the Song Dynasty (960–1127 AD) and was inscribed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011.
What is Karagoz shadow theater?⌄
Karagoz is a Turkish shadow puppet tradition featuring two main characters: Karagoz (the uneducated, impulsive everyman) and Hacivat (the learned, pretentious friend). The flat, jointed figures are made from camel or cattle hide and projected onto a screen. Karagoz was inscribed by UNESCO in 2009. Similar shadow puppet traditions exist in Greece (Karagiozis) and across the Mediterranean.
Key figures
Who was Henry Bursill?⌄
Henry Bursill was the author of Hand Shadows to be Thrown Upon the Wall, published in London in 1859. It is the first known instructional book on hand shadowgraphy and remains the foundational text. Bursill noted that shadow puppet instruction books 'almost invariably begun with a rabbit,' establishing the rabbit as the traditional first figure. The book is freely available on Project Gutenberg.
Who was Felicien Trewey?⌄
Felicien Trewey (1848–1920) was a French entertainer who popularized shadowgraphy as a stage performance art in European music halls during the 1870s and 1880s. He was a contemporary and friend of the Lumiere brothers and performed in London, Paris, and across Europe. Trewey elevated hand shadows from a parlor amusement to a professional theatrical act, reportedly creating over 300 figures.
Who is Drew Colby?⌄
Drew Colby is a contemporary British hand shadow artist and one of the only full-time shadowgraphy performers working today. Based in Gateshead, England, he performs internationally and has collaborated with the Royal Ballet and Opera. In September 2024, he set a Guinness World Record for the largest projected hand shadow at the IMAX in London.
Shadow Pals
What does Shadow Pals teach?⌄
Shadow Pals teaches hand shadowgraphy — making animal and figure silhouettes using only your bare hands. The iPhone app uses the camera to track your hand in real time and coach you into the correct pose. It does not teach rod puppet construction, flat puppet carving, or shadow puppet theater production. The learn section on this site covers the broader world of shadow play, including history and cultural context.