a walk to görlitz הליכה לגרליץ
a graphical triptych (commission)
mixed media on canvas
170 x 110 cm
The creative process is a fascinating journey, and so was the creation of this work. At some point I caught myself humming the same tune over and over again during the work — Eli, Eli. A poem by Hannah Szenesh that became a famous Israeli song for Jewish Holocaust remembrance. I even integrated a few lines of the poem into the painting. That’s how the painting got its title. Not a “Walk to Caesaria” (as the poem is titled) but my personal “Walk to Goerlitz”. I wasn’t sure if I am going a little too far astray with it as Szenesh was a Hungarian Jew, and not really connected to Goerlitz — but it all made sense to me regardless.
When I traveled to Goerlitz in November 2022 (actually, I was there on November 7, the date Hannah was executed by the Nazis) to hand the painting over to my client, I also visited the newly restored and reopened Synagogue (that is the center of the work). Inside the large, gorgeous Kuppelsaal was a temporary exhibition portraying Jewish women. And there she was: Hannah Szenesh, her portrait, Eli Eli, and her story hanging in the Goerlitz Shul. The circle closed.
1. preparing the canvas
the work consists of three canvas panels that were stitched together, reminiscent of the sheets (klafim) of a Sefer Torah, a Torah scroll.
2. let’s paint
the process of creating this artwork will integrate the past, present, and future, working with various techniques, combining painting, drawing, and typography.