Integrations
This series reflects Rabbi Abraham Abulafia’s reference to the “ink writing” on the inside of the mother’s womb. Kabbalistic texts use the female womb as a metaphor of the “shekhina”/feminine divine and of creation. This work incorporates the diagrams and scientific drawings of Kabbalistic and Torah texts, as well as Medieval and Renaissance drawings of uteruses/wombs. They are layered with personal drawings, photography, and printing. Black mirrors are placed on the printed paper and photographed, then drawn on again.
Integrations emerged from an intense emotional experience that revealed latent painful memories. The drawings are mappings of my internal and external psyches, and become works of healing. The Hebrew word for womb, "rechem," resonates with the concept of "rachamim"—a profound sense of empathy, compassion, and mercy.
The Arizal, a 16th century Kabbalist, tells the creation story as Divine lights in the world of “Tohu”/chaos, shattering the vessels there and falling into the vessels of the world of “Tikkun”/repair. They reflect an inherent superior quality to the order that emerges through entropy, or chaos. “There are cracks”—broken vessels— everywhere. We are broken, pained by our past and our present. And yet, as Leonard Cohen continues, “that is how the light gets in.” Metaphorical and actual light refracting and reflecting through the shatters.
Integrations emerged from an intense emotional experience that revealed latent painful memories. The drawings are mappings of my internal and external psyches, and become works of healing. The Hebrew word for womb, "rechem," resonates with the concept of "rachamim"—a profound sense of empathy, compassion, and mercy.
The Arizal, a 16th century Kabbalist, tells the creation story as Divine lights in the world of “Tohu”/chaos, shattering the vessels there and falling into the vessels of the world of “Tikkun”/repair. They reflect an inherent superior quality to the order that emerges through entropy, or chaos. “There are cracks”—broken vessels— everywhere. We are broken, pained by our past and our present. And yet, as Leonard Cohen continues, “that is how the light gets in.” Metaphorical and actual light refracting and reflecting through the shatters.
The Kabbalistic Tree, by J. H. Chajes was a visual inspiration for some of these works. I redrew many of the trees from this beautiful and rich book.