1995

the task of mourning

Neutral Ground
Regina, Saskatchewan

This was a photographic, text and sculptural installation which included five manipulated black and white photographic transfers taken from an identical negative printed on canvas in five different stages of under- and over-exposure mounted within canvas-covered wooden crates, Tibetan 'singing bowls', hand made 'blank books', vinyl text listing normative practices within the Jewish grieving ritual mounted on the wall (each letter measuring 3" high), and books left on a wall mounted shelf. People were actively encouraged to make the bowls sing by striking them with a cloth-covered wooden stick and sit with the books.

The two reference books were:

  • Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror Judith Lewis Herman M.D. HarperCollins: New York, NY, 1992
  • Concern for the Living: A Compendium of Laws, Traditions and Customs on Mourning: Their Origins and Rationale Chaim Press. Targum Press Incorporated: Southfield, Michigan, 1990