JUDAICA
Mezuzahs
A Mezuzah is the small but potent expression of Jewish identity and faith. In the old quarters of Spanish cities there are empty crevices in the doorposts that centuries ago served as mezuzot and now remain mute witnesses of great tragedies. To make a mezuzah is to become part of an unbroken chain of identity that draws strength from the past and gives meaning to the future.
Jewish Figures
Jewish Figures are the archetypes of our personal legends. They were the characters in the stories we heard as children; the figures that never left us but grew into the secret voices that advise us and ultimately become our judges. They can be either serious or whimsical, rooted in a biblical story, a shtetl or a Chassidic wedding celebration.
Jewish Artifacts
Jewish artifacts are objects used in Jewish religious practice in homes and synagogues, designed for rituals which evolved over thousands of years. To reinterpret these objects now, bring out their visual potential and research their origins, gives a sense of direct contact with craftsmen who through generations did their part in creating the symbols of Jewish survival.
Jerusalem
It is impossible to be indifferent to Jerusalem: it inspires, it infuriates, and as the 137th psalm warns, one forgets it at one’s own peril. The diverse buildings of the city have a powerful unity imposed by the stones from which they are constructed; the city was erected by conquerors, destroyed and built again by other conquerors. The three great religions are centered here, they co-exist but when they quarrel the world shakes. This fusion of time, style and conflict is that which inspired our sculpture of Jerusalem. It is constructed as a sphere because it is a world in its own right and because mediaeval mapmakers drew Jerusalem as a circular city – the center and the navel of the universe. Depicted are the enclosing walls with their diverse styles; the seven symbolic gates that lead into the city, the Temple Mount, churches, mosques and the villages that lie outside in the shadow of its walls.