The New American Art
siona benjamin

Finding Home # 67 “The Immigrants New Clothes” (Rebecca)

When Moses sent spies to scout the promised land, they returned carrying pomegranates and other fruits as evidence of the lands bounty and fertility. A midrash (interpretation) tells us that the pomegranate contains 613 seeds, the number of mitzvoth (commandments) found in the Torah.

Standing under a prolific pomegranate tree, the Rebecca in my painting dons her new dress. The stripes bind her to her new identity and the stars wave over her shoulder like a night sky. Her reconstructed “Tikkun ha-olam” vessel is full with life giving water, but instead of her own reflection she does not like what she sees. Will her promised home-land be bombed by alien forces….again? It is difficult to forget the past, as it is evident that she is a holocaust survivor.

Siona Benjamin