2014-2015

Jewish Home Beautiful: Revisited I, 2014

This project was made possible in part by funding from The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Goddard College Faculty Development Fund.

Screenings in India and Canada coordinated by Bindu Mehra of the Digital Silk Route collective, which seeks to explore the transformational impact of migration, movement and globalization on individuals and societies through art.

The Jewish Home Beautiful – Revisited I explores the ambivalent status of beauty and home in identity politics. Set in the background of a celebration of the holiday of Shavuot, this live art performance invited conversation about how the deliberate engagement with beauty and home can on the one hand strengthen intra-cultural alliances, while on the other, perpetuate cycles of violence: in other words, how very often the affirmation of beauty and the settling at home of one population sets into motion homelessness for others. Specifically, The Jewish Home Beautiful – Revisited I intentionally problematized the performance of a beautiful Jewish home in light of the Palestinian Diaspora created by Jews settling in the “Promised Land”.

Video: Jewish Home Beautiful: Revisited I, 2014 (dur. 04m19s)

Documentation of a performance this work can be seen here.