Identity and Home
Through my art, I explore the layers of my identity shaped by my immigration experience, split between California and Israel. This journey prompts reflections on the intersections of my Jewish heritage with questions of belonging and home. Using language, rituals, and memory across various media, I weave a dynamic tapestry of identity, depicting the complexities of immigration. My aim is to foster empathy and dialogue, inviting viewers to reflect on their own experiences of a place and belonging.
About the screens installation
Three suspended screens feature different full-body outline cuts, representing my diverse identities as an immigrant. The first screen displays an abstract painting on sheer fabric, portraying my leap of faith during moments of change. The second and third screens, made from packaging materials, symbolize the physical act of relocation. Cutouts in the screens allow partial images to pass through, symbolizing the voids and gains inherent in the immigration journey.
About the accordion book
The accordion book serves as a central medium, serving as the ideal medium to narrate the journey of 'home.' It unravels layers, shedding light on the complexities of place, time, language, cultural dynamics, and the deep sense of belonging. Its unique feature, readable from right to left in Hebrew for the place left behind or left to right in English symbolizing 'going west,' holds profound symbolism. Moreover, the book's length signifies the geographical distance between these two homes.
Trauma, Fear, Resilient and Hope
My work responded to the collective trauma and profound sadness within my Israeli-Jewish community. I explored the myth of home as a fortress, confronting the fear and devastation that arise when home becomes unsafe—a stark reality for families hiding in bomb shelters that failed to protect them from violence. My project, Constructing Safety/Diminishing Home, examines the paradox where efforts to ensure safety strip away the warmth, familiarity, and emotional security that make a place feel like home.
Using jute and yellow caution tape knitted over 50 hours, I created elements of a bomb shelter: a door, a shrapnel-protected window opening, and protective walls. Knitting, a tactile, bodily process, contrasts with the impersonal act of pouring concrete. The material evokes fragility and resilience, mirroring the human experience of fear and hope. Illuminated by a construction projector, the installation uses light to symbolize both hope and the shadows of fear.
Supporting works include paintings addressing fear and borders, and a pop-up book exploring home’s vulnerability. My message— “only peace is a safe place”—aims to inspire empathy and dialogue. This body of work reflects trauma, resilience, and the enduring human pursuit of light amidst darkness.
The labyrinth path
The labyrinth path is the heart of Creating Space of Solace. Unlike a maze, it offers one continuous, winding route that gently leads to the center and back, inviting slow, mindful walking and reflection through the prompt: “When I walk the Labyrinth, I…” The 12×12 ft path is hand-knitted with hemp and yellow-gold flax atop a 14×14 ft blue vinyl base shaped like water. The textured hemp symbolizes community diversity, while the gold lines evoke hope and give voice to the unheard. Upon entry, a sign invites participants to walk and then share reflections at a round table across the room, stocked with paper, pencils, and a basket. This participatory installation becomes more than a physical space—it’s a meditative journey of belonging and renewal. Responses will be digitized and compiled into an artist’s book, creating a lasting archive that extends the dialogue beyond the gallery and into a broader, connected community.
Gathering Strength
Gathering Strength is a suspended circular canopy, seven feet in diameter and hanging at 6.5 feet. Made of brown-painted aluminum wire, it holds bundles of tree branches and paper chimes extending one foot downward. Positioned to complement the Labyrinth path or stand alone, it visually and symbolically links earth and sky. In a time of disconnection, each fragile branch contributes to a strong, unified structure, representing community resilience. Paper chimes woven among the branches react to air movement, carrying inscribed messages that, while often unreadable, hint at deeper meanings. This interplay of fragility and strength reflects how collaboration and ritual can transform and renew, both individually and collectively—showing how delicate elements, when united, create lasting power.
Milestones אבני דרך
Milestones אבני דרך presents ten stone-shaped bundles crafted from knitted jute, caution tape, and fabric fragments, arranged in a gesture of togetherness. The jute, a plant known for its protective bark and nourishing leaves, symbolizes resilience and spiritual sustenance. Embedded within each bundle are small stones and fragments of poetry, echoing Jewish rituals of memory and healing. These tactile forms mark transformation—burdens released, obstacles overcome—and serve as quiet thresholds between what has ended and the possibilities that lie ahead.