beach/bitch
I collected photos of the beach that were taken by women I interviewed and friends. Most women I interviewed share connecting to the beach in Israel as a source of relaxation, release, enjoyment, freedom, acceptance, culture and childhood.
My connection to the beach came from two different sources: I used to live quite close to the beach but didn't visit it much - I'm not a big fan of the sand, the salt and the waves. I use to go jogging on the sidewalk next to the beach, I remember running the first KM from house, up a hill and reaching the point where I could see the sea and the beach, it was a liberating moment, from this point I ran closer to the beach, the sea is accepting me, without any judgmental, and when I went back, I always looked back, disconnecting from the beach, until next time.
The second connection was few months ago, after the separation, I wanted to take the kids for a short vacation, just the three of us, and my first instinct was to take them to Whitstable and the surrounding, I have never been there before, but I wanted us to go to a beach, a British seashore beach, as this is the ultimate vacation for Israeli migrated from the Mediterranean sea to the north sea.
Can you find your beach?
Printed photos stitched on canvas
white thread
Sight sound and touch
The Israeli beach is a source of comfort, relaxation, empowerment and is been missed by many Israeli women whom I interviewed.
W said: "The sea is accepting me for what I am, allowing me to be myself"
Q said: "I miss the beach the most, it use to be my sanctuary, where I felt safe and comfort".
I took photos of the beach from all over the world that were taken by me and my friends and created a beach collage, without people to connect with, just beach and ocean, where we can find out the private beach, our escape.
no touch
Homage to K's love/hate touch, she loves the touch of a fur cushion that was made to her by her beloved grandfather, she hates the touch of cat's fur brushing against her. Both being furs, animals, the main difference is the consent, the cat forces its touch on her.
I added the embroidery ring to distinguish the cushion area, the artificial fur is a back of a jumper. I embroidered the words "no-touch" - which has ambiguous meanings: asking not to touch, asking not to be touched, complaining about the lack of touch and so on.
Maybe it's not a good translation of "don't touch" when ESL situation.
My connection is with the tension between things are been forced to accept and live it, might be someone's favourite cat, but when received without consent can become horrible,
I also feel connected to the ambiguous wordplay, not sure I'm being clear enough with my needs, open to interpretations? Am I afraid of not being touched and losing touch, with myself, sometimes with the surrounding?
Recycled artificial fur - Uniqlo
embroidery ring - wood
Light pink thread.
Sight, sound and touch
K said: "My comforting touch is my fur cushion, that was made to me by my beloved grandfather, my most hated touch is the fur of a cat brushing against me".
I'm using these two opposite emotions in one piece, both are fur, can be pleasant to touch or not, and raised questions about consent in relationships and acceptable touch, and how these two opposite emotions are closer than what we think.
I try
F lived in London and loved it but took a rational decision to move back to Israel so she can have children. Last night before going back to Israel she went to see Macy Gray in Koko with her partner and was devastated by this song, she was sad to leave her partner but most she was sad to leave London.
My connection to it is from making a heartbreaking decision, choosing between two things that you love most and hoping I made the right choice,
Black cord glued to canvas
British flag badge
Sight, sound, touch
F said: "I decided to leave London and move back to Israel so I can have children. Last night before going back, I went to see Macy Gray with my partner, this song, brought up all my emotional stress, I was devastated, partly because I have to leave him, but mostly because I have to leave London".
I'm using cord to write these lines of the song, emphasizing the part of chocking, when making such a life-changing decision, migrating to London or migrating back to Israel, we experience guilt and uncertainties in our decision.
identity ****
Many women that I interviewed, experienced the same pattern that happened to them after moving to the UK. Most women moved to the UK following their partner from Israel, and some of them experienced identity crises looking for their own identity in these new settings. Their mission was to take care of everyone, make sure everyone settled well, all administrative procedures are sorted but sometimes didn't put their mind on taking care of themselves. Some of them couldn't fit in with a new job, left their careers in Israel without the ability to pursue a new one here, and felt a big void in their life. They experienced an identity crisis, that challenged their ability, their place in their family, their place in the community, in society, in the job market, in their family back in Israel.
My connection is to question my abilities as well,
X said: When we moved to London, I was focused on making sure everyone settled in well, and after a while, I started to look for a new job, new friends, new connection, I had to start everything from scratch, I didn't recognize myself and didn't know what I want to do with my life, and what do I like, it was all so different than home".
Many women I interviewed experienced an identity crisis, when they don't recognize themselves, try to figure out who they are in this new setting.
I took the identity reference from a questionnaire, that I filled many times since we moved to London and replaced the checkbox with mirrors for each option.
mirror stickers on canvas
dark green ink
My work is an identity challenge as mirrors displaying my reflection in a questionnaire. I filled a lot of these questionnaires, where I need to identify myself, some of these questions make me wonder who I am, and how I determine myself in this questionnaire and outside of it.
My favourite options are: "other" and "prefer not to say", every time I see them in questionnaire, I smile and grateful that I moved my family and myself to such an open and accepting place like London, where you can be whoever you want, and not have to identify yourself in standard norms. I hardly use these options, but I'm pleased to know I have them.
mirror stickers
green ink on canvas
Sight, sound and touch
Leaves
B said: "When I experience my hardship and my pain, I used to go to the woods for a run, it helped me to relax and focus. I like running in the woods crash the leaves under my feet. I like the feeling, the sound and smell of it, I feel comfort surrounded by nature, its very mindfulness experience".
I collected dried leaves and stuff them in a cover, so it will look and feel like a pillow, we can interact with it, crush the leaves, smell the change of season and connect with nature.
Recycle none-fabric shoe case - Melissa
Leaves
white thread
All of this is temporary? ****
It was - a permanent solution to a temporary problem. It helped me to tell the difference between a temporary problem and a permanent one.פיתרון קבוע לבעיה זמניתI should redo the red cord that I did and removed, it comes from SH story and her experiencing her hardship. When she was about 18, her cousin whom she was very closed with, got killed in the army. She was traumatised by the what happened to her close family, uncle and aunt, how their heart was broken and it was so hard for her to contain it and she saw how uncontainable and unbearable it is for them, and she was deeply sad for a long time. When she and her husband got separated she was in a lot of pain but the phrase that allow her to contain and gain strength is the fact that this is temporary - the pain that she experience is temporary, the sadness about their relationship is temporary, the suffering she experience is temporary, and cannot be compared to the sadness and suffer her aunt and uncle experienced when they lost their son since it is something permanent.
My connection to this sentence came from my ability to comprehend and handled my hardship through the idea that this is temporary. one day at the time, after a while, became one week at a time and so. Sometimes I'm not sure I will ever be able to overcome my hardship.
Blue cord glued to canvas
Sight, sound, touch
R said: "When my marriage fell apart I was in a lot of pain, and I kept telling myself that is it temporary, the suffering and the sadness. I always compared it to the permanent situation my uncle and aunt experience, and the unbearable pain when their son was killed in the army. The thought that my experience is temporary, gave me the strength and ability to keep on with my life".
I took this phrase, which hold sometimes as a mantra for us to keep on with our lives, and I challenge it, just with adding a question mark at the end, maybe to stop and be in this temporary moment, and feel as if it will stay forever.
songs of life
V revealed her playlist of milestones in her life. I created a Happiness VS Inspiration chart
Earth-Wind And Fire - Boogie Wonderland 4:48 age 5 + innocence
Erasure - Am I Right 4:19 age 13 - fantasy
Muse - Time is Running Out 3:57 age 21 - + realisation
Shapeshifters - Lola’s Theme 3:27 age 25 + fun
Mandy - Body Language 7:20 age 27- emphasizing a point
Candi Staton - Rather Be an Old Man’s Sweetheart 2:10 age 29 - + comprehension
Mamas and Papa - Dream a Little Dream 3:14 age 31 + missing my love
Beyonce - Drunk in Love 5:23 age 37 Awakening
TBC My connection to it is to be able to articulate a specific moment or time in your life using songs
V said: "This is the song of life, the playlist of events that happened to me, milestones of memories that I pair with the songs that I was listening to when that moment happened. Every time I hear these songs I immediately remember that moment and the feeling the I had. These memories are good and bad, but they all had a turning point, something special that happened in them that changed something in me.
I took the playlist and calculated the rate of happiness and inspiration that happened in these moments, and I created a chart from my results. Although some of our most memorable moments we were down and upset they did inspire us to grow to find our strength and confidence to overcome the challenges.
Purple velvet and blue sequences fabrics glue to canvas
black ink
Sight, sound, touch
Replay
The song: Slow Emotion Replay
The first break up is the most traumatic one
M shared her experience of first breakup being 18, feeling miserable, devastated, heartbroken, listening to this song in a loop and feeling sad, empty, not connected to myself since she identified with these lyrics, mostly the last sentences of the song - "I'm just a slow emotion replay of somebody I used to be".
I took these two sentences that I identify with as well, in some periods in my life, and wrote them spiralling, to emphasize the feeling of losing control, spiralling into our dark emotion and sadness, looping in our thoughts without the ability to see the end of it.
recyclable round plate - Bamboo
Black pen - Muji 0.5
L said: the most traumatic breakup is the first one, I remember feeling so low and listening to this song in a loop, and felt I was a slow emotion replay of somebody I used to be, so empty not connected to myself, unrecognizable and heartbroken.
I took these two sentences that I identify with as well, in some periods in my life, and wrote them spiralling, to emphasize the feeling of losing control, spiralling into our dark emotion and sadness, looping in our thoughts without the ability to see the end of it.
recyclable round plate - Bamboo
Black pen - Muji 0.5
snoopy
I want to connect the music to my board11 sounds: I try love song
6-11-2019new idea - smile
7-11-2019(out of ) control(losing) control
temporary
home
leaves
replay
control
eat me
Comments