 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Exhibition :
The Judith Altman Memorial Judaica Competition One of the central precepts of Judaism is to remember, to hand on our stories from generation to generation - L'dor v'dor, so that nothing is lost. Yet at the same time, memory is a living thing, not static, and each generation adds its own interpretation. I remember as a child lighting our family Hannukiah, a traditional ritual object made in Israel with a Star of David embossed on both sides. One hot summer in our backyard, my children made their own Chunnukiah by gluing gumnuts to a brightly coloured base they had painted. Each of these objects now evokes a memory of a specials time and place. "Judaism is both enduring and evolving. as its core remains immutable while its practice adapts to changing cultures and environments."1 In particular what changes is our form of expression: our aesthetics and the material we use. As a maker, creating Judaica enhances and defines my own sense of identity - as an Australian, an artist, a daughter, a mother, a Jew. To bring a new voice and contemporary aesthetic to a ritual object enhances the beauty and sacredness of the ceremony. The candlesticks and Hannukah Menorah are tactile ritual obkects which can be physically passed down through the generations. Fused into them is something less tangible: the fragility of memory and interpretation which history embellishes. "Glass as a material is fragile, breakable. Not very much survives as material witness to history. That which remains is precious and treasured. Ede works in cast glass. It is challenging material to work with, to mould to shape and to master. And although it is vulnerable it is weighty. It has real presence."2 The medium I
work in has its own particular characteristics. I wish to honor
these qualities and at the same time create an object which develops
its own narrative. |
|
