Catharsis
The following is my new 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 (Tanya 47)
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.
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
