family tree, 2021
Eleven mezuzahs are dedicated to one branch of the artist’s family tree where a father, his children (their mother passed away on 9 September 1938), and grandchildren perished in the Holocaust. The mezuzahs are sealed, a metaphor for innocent lives cut short. One other is open with a tape cascading from it with details of a son, Joel who moved to the USA in 1936 with his new bride.
Joel passed away on 25 February 2003 in Maryland, USA, aged 91.
The backdrop is of the family butcher shop at 7 Pilsudskiego, Piotrkow Tribunalski, Poland. The family lived above in a two-roomed apartment. (photo credit: Mark Wolraich,1990)
The Hebrew word mezuzah means doorpost in a literal sense, but over time it has evolved to describe a decorative case which contains a piece of parchment called a klaf which is inscribed with specific Hebrew verses.
“Jewish possessions lay scattered all over the streets, evidence of the uncontrolled looting that had taken place after the transports. The houses were all deserted; there were no obvious signs of life to be seen. Friends and acquaintances, rich and poor, all were deported to their uncertain fate by the Nazi invaders. We did not know then that our brothers were to be gassed at Treblinka; we knew only that Piotrkow was a thing of the past” Leibel Sanik, Someday We’ll Be Free
As early as October 1939 Piotrków became the site of the first Jewish ghetto of World War II set up in occupied Poland. Approximately 25,000 people from Piotrków and the nearby towns and villages were imprisoned there. During the Holocaust 22,000 were sent to the Treblinka extermination camp, while 3,000 were imprisoned in other Nazi concentration camps. wikipedia.org
תנוח על משכבך בשלום
Rest in peace
Measurement: 42cm x 30cm x 1.5cm
Process: Hand stitch
Materials: 12 mezuzahs, cotton, silk thread, photograph (printed by Printer of Dreams, London)
Exhibited in:
Fabricated? Solo Exhibition, London, England (1 October 2024 - 31 January 2025)
COMMENTS
The best of what we want in art: thoughtful, moving and beautiful
The use of the mezuzahs has made me feel very emotional
Your work always leaves me speechless and makes me think about life/lives
Beautiful but painful
Thank you for sharing and making this work
Such moving work. The personal stories of precious life lost
In awe…once again!
Very poignant work but beautiful as always
Amazing work, as usual, heartbreaking subject