"Mikveh" (bathhouse for ritual of purification) includes depictions of bathing women, in preparation for and during the ritual. These scenes were embroidered with twine stitches, creating sharp marks deployed to both support and contrast the body’s form. Prior to entering the water, raw cotton is utilized in the ritual, and incorporated in my work through the language of needlework.

A discreet and religious event, the bathhouse ritual is a seldom indulged subject in that culture (especially not in public). I suspect my personal interpretation of it could inspire the curiosity of those who adhere to these laws, and beyond - opening a dialogue about the implied narratives in my multi-figure compositions, to the universal meaning of immersion in water (as in baptism), and triggering the questions: what makes the viewer feel pure, what are we trying to remove - sins, memories, doubts? Or something beyond our control such as the traces of menstruation?

2019-2020