To the Source of the Eye

Chava Epstein uses a color-ceramic technique to sculpt gatherings of figures, posed in an interaction of observation. The figures examine what is there to see, whilst trying to understand the source of the eye/spring (in Hebrew both “eye” and “spring” come from the same root) that is concealed behind.
In the series of meditation cards, “The innocent’s journey to the source of the eye”, that relates to introspection, Epstein cast the masks from her own face. Every mask represents a different aspect of life. In “Little Sumo”’ Epstein examines outward observation. In this sculpture the artist created her own figure as a Japanese doll, thus depicting her personal involvement with the enchantment of a foreign culture. Old photos of Epstein’s paternal family, some of whom were killed in the Holocaust and others spread around the world, were the source of “Reunion with the Past”. In this sculpture series the artist examines the past/her past.
In the sculpture series “Observation” Epstein examines what happens in a gallery space. The eye contact, which occurs between the sculptures and other displayed figures and the viewers, highlights the variety of materials – from the spaces of time, place and symbolic existence.

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The exhibition comprises sculpted groupings of figures posed in an interaction of observation. The figures examine what is there to see, whilst trying to understand the source of the eye/spring (in Hebrew both “eye” and “spring” come from the same root) that is concealed.
Introspection: The masks for the series of meditation cards, “The Innocent’s Journey to the Source of the Eye” were cast from my own face. Every mask represents a different aspect of life and shows the innocent figure at the center how to deal with world’s contents, and how to combine them with the figure’s characteristics.
Outward observation: Represented by “Little Sumo”, my own figure in the form of a Japanese doll, thus depicting my personal involvement with the enchantment of a foreign culture.
Examining the past: Old photos of my paternal family that were the origin of the sculpture series “Let Thy Fountain be Blessed” enabled a reunion with the past, with hope for the future, with family relatives, some of whom were killed in the Holocaust and others dispersed around the world.

Let Thy Fountain be Blessed (Proverbs 5:18)
I chose this phrase (after a book of the same title written by Baruch Halevy Epstein, a family relative) to characterize the series, which I signed with my original name – Epstein Halevy Benbenishti.
In the sculpture “Let Thy Fountain be Blessed” that opens the series, I sculpted my father when he was about 10 years old, sitting to the left of his mother and brother. My sculpted father sits on the book of his life and the many paged family legacy. The floor is a deposit of torn letters from his father, mother and sister – letters he kept for his entire life.
I added to the photographic collage in the background the opening page of the book Let Thy Fountain be Blessed and the last sign of life that was sent to him by his mother: a postcard from Warsaw, written in Yiddish with the date: 28.8.39 (Four days before the outbreak of World War II).
As his daughter I know that that same boy would dare to leave his rich family, to forge a new path (just as his Hebrew name, Peretz) and build his life in Israel. I know that the existential sadness that spreads over his face will accompany the bitter fate of these photographed family relatives – his mother shot dead in a mass grave in Pinsk ghetto, and his brother led from Warsaw Ghetto to the gas chambers with his wife and five year old son.
I also know that the future of this branch of the family rests on my father’s shoulders, son of the Levy tribe and a respected old Spanish family, Benbenishti. A family of many well-known Rabbis, most termed ‘great light’ or ‘great genius’, and from hence came the first Israeli president (and another one…), and before him also the “Pillar of Fire”.
The little smile and my sculpted father’s look of hope contain my knowledge that as a result of his personal decision to come to Israel, he might also achieve “Let Thy Fountain be Blessed” – he would be the only one to have children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, all connected to their race and their historical homeland.

Observing what Happens Outside: In the sculpture series “Observation” there is eye contact between the sculptures and other displayed figures and the viewers. They highlight the variety of materials – from the spaces of time, place and symbolic existence.

Chava Epstein