Catharsis
The following is my mixed media series
involving the bereavement period
from my dear wife, Yael Avi-Yonah ע"ה
who
returned her precious soul to her
Maker
on Chet Mar-heshvan (October 24th 2012):
The series can be regarded as
perhaps a
surrealistic montage
of my photos of Yael's paintings and snapshots
I made
of her in
the past which "unite" together
in various unusual even shocking combinations.
I call the series: catharsis, since
in their creation
I was able to release and empty from myself
strong emotions of loss and despair
to allow a new beginning and direction
and as such they may have relevance to others
who may have passed through a similar experience.
The works in the series (essentially prototypes)
are arranged in more or less chronological order
and have been digitally printed on small canvases
with the intention to create
much larger versions
with airbrushed modifications,
if there is a possibility
for museum or gallery
exhibition.
Link to Hebrew - עברית
Yael meets the Angel of Death
mixed media on
canvas
18" x 24" (46 x 61 cm)
Yael was always
fond of cats
and especially this black alley cat
who came several times a day
to
demand food and whom
I regarded as as a demonic denizen.
The leftovers
from the cat food also attracted
strange snail-worms-serpents
who came up from
the sewer.
Yael within the Skin of the Serpent
mixed media on
canvas
18" x 24" (46 x 61 cm)
Trapped within
the net of the
"Skin of the Serpent" משכא
דחויה
Yael awaits to
leave her earthly prison
and join the celestials
Yael and the CAT scan of her brain
mixed media on
canvas
18" x 19 1/2" (46 x 50 cm)
Yael"s death was
unexpected and quite sudden
and probably with minimal pain "a kiss of death"
as a result of a
severe hemorrhage in the brain stem
and as such
could not be helped by surgery
Bereavement Poster
mixed media on
canvas
18" x 19 1/2" (46 x 50 cm)
Yael with her favorite toy - a led-lit plastic bird
and my last photograph of her
against her painting on the World of
Angels
and her own bereavement posters מודעות אבל
which are quite common
in the religious neighborhoods in Israel.
Visiting the Tombs of My Parents at the Mount of Olives
mixed media on
canvas
18" x 19 1/2" (46 x 50 cm)
Yael would love
to go with me on the occasions I visited
the tombs of my
parents who are buried in a choice spot
on the Mount of
Olives overlooking the Temple Mount
a spectacular
view that was the subject
of many of her
paintings.
yaelpst.htm
Yael's Tomb Stone on the Mount of Olives
mixed media on
canvas
18" x 19 1/2" (46 x 50 cm)
Quite
miracuously I was able to receive a plot for Yael
on the Mount of Olives
not far from
where my parents are buried
and design a tombstone that would be
according to her
taste and with her trademark.
During the times I visited her tomb
I felt her
presence united
with her favorite painting of mine:
Meditation on a
Point
The Resurrection
mixed media on
canvas
18" x 19 1/2" (46 x 50 cm)
Throughout her
career as an artist,
Yael had a strong attraction to skulls and
skeletons.
In my opinion
her most evocative painting
is what she called: The Resurrection
and I found it
appropriate
to include her photo along side of it
and may its
"prophecy" be fulfilled
quickly and in our times.
Yael and the Celestials
mixed media on
canvas
24" x 18" (61 x 46 cm)
Yael
loved to draw the Lion (her zodaic sign)
and included them often in her artistic visions
of the celestial chambers
as described in the
Zohar
where she would seek
refuge from the travails
and traumas of her past.
The Third Temple Descending on Miami Beach
mixed media on
canvas
21 1/2" x 18" (55 x 46 cm)
Yael
loved to meditate on the Third Temple
and how it would appear
when it would miraculously descend
and reveal itself to the world.
Yael as Queen Esther