THE ADORNMENT OF PRAYER (12″ x 12″ hand-cut collage) – When a person prays (or meditates), they often feel a sense of peace. If they pray often enough, this peace can be visible to other people – in the form of a serene composure. In this way, a person is adorned by prayer.
CONCORD (12″ x 12″ hand-cut collage) – Life has a way of grinding some people down, whereby their emotional being becomes like granite. This eventually shows in their face, which people can mistake for hardness or distain; it is not, it is sorrow. Only those that really know and love such people, know the goodness that lies within – goodness made even sweeter by its obscuration. This idea is represented by the dog. Dogs do not judge their carers by the way they look of the life they’ve led; rather, they love them unconditionally and exist in concord with them.
GRIEF (12″x12″ hand-cut collage) – With grief, everyday activities become painful – shown here by fire coming out of the shower, instead of water. Such agony is compounded by the fact that life around you carries on – as represented by the fish. However, the movement of the fish also represent that fact that the extreme nature of new grief is a temporary state. Even if the pain of the loss never subsides, normalcy loses its sting and the lives of those around you can, once again, become a source of joy.
MEMORY OF YOU (12″ x12″ hand-cut collage) – Memory is an amazing gift; it allows you to recall, often in great detail, people and events from the past – essentially bringing them to life again. However, it is often difficult to recall, with distinction, a person’s face – which can be upsetting when you have lost a loved one. Nonetheless, other things about them can remain vivid – like their presence or how they made you feel.
MIKVAH (12″ x 12″ hand-cut collage) – A mikvah is a Jewish ritual pool, used in various religious rites. By immersing oneself in the water, a person becomes ritually pure. The symbolism attached is that of death and rebirth.
THE SEDUCTION OF KNOWLEDGE (12″ x 12″ hand-cut collage) – Humans possess an irrepressible need to know. However, knowledge is a double-edge sword. Although it can be a source of power and empowerment, it can also be a source of grief: They that increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. Ecclesiastes 1:18 Nevertheless, knowledge has a seductiveness most people are powerless to resist.
SWEET CAROLINE (12″ x 12″ hand-cut collage) – The main figure in this picture reminds me of Caroline, one of the sweetest people I know. She always seems to be running here and there, doing things for other people, in an attempt to make their life easier. It is nice to have her here, in a garden of repose.
SHABBAT WITH GAUGUIN & RIVKA (12″ x 12″ hand-cut collage) – Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest, is usually begun by a meal shared with family. Although Gauguin had a family, he abandoned them so he could paint, unburdened and uninterrupted, in Tahiti. I can relate to Gaugin’s drive to paint above all else, even to the exclusion of family life. However, there are times when I am aware of the cost. With Gaugin in the middle, the figure on the left is Rivka (Hebrew for Rebecca), and the figure on the right represents Painting.
SPRING WALTZ (12″ x 12″ hand-cut collage) – I was recently introduced to Chopin’s Spring Waltz; it is a beautiful piece of music which I’ve listened to over and over again. I made this piece while I was listening to it; in return, the collage resonates with the music.
SUSPENDED (12″ x 12″ hand-cut collage) – This picture illustrates the feeling you get when you are in someone’s bad books. You feel vulnerable, as though you are in a play without a script…and you are not sure what to say or do. Yet, while in this state of suspension, you have to pretend everything is fine so you don’t make the situation worse.
VESTAL DISSONANCE (12″ x 12″ hand-cut collage) – Within the Judeo-Christian tradition, the female form is something to be hidden; engendering the idea that it is impure or disgraceful. In which case, the ideal woman is chaste. In Western Art, the female form is a thing of beauty and is to be admired. In which case, the ideal woman is beautiful. In contemporary western culture, the female form is overtly sexual, powerful and thin. In which case, the ideal woman is a sex-goddess, runs a corporation and looks like a pre-pubescent boy. The majority of women are barely one of these things, let alone all of them; yet, these feminine archetypes continue to have a significant bearing the female psyche.
THE SACRIFICE OF INNOCENCE (12″ x 12″ hand-cut collage) – The pretty appearance of this picture belies its darker underpinning and asks the question: whose innocence is being sacrificed?
