A Window to the Sacred Center
חלון למרכז הקודש
Mixed media on glass, 1992
Additional piece, 2005
The base illustration is an Old City woodcut dating within the Turkish mandate over Palestine (mid-17th C. at the earliest). Affixed to it are folk olive wood carvings of the Tomb of Rachel in Bethlehem. Affixed to the carvings are tiny medallions bearing the identical iconography. The frame is adorned with authentic Arab embroidery; the curtains are scraps of dress material from Farida’s shop on Christian Quarter Road. All materials affixed to the exterior are authentic to the geography of the piece.
Subsequently the original piece was extended to include a transparency of a late antique menorah, placing the Jewish and Palestinian identities adjacent, as they are in reality. The Temple Mount was detached like a puzzle piece inviting the viewer to decide 'which side it belongs to'.
