Kriah

The work is entitled Kriah, a Hebrew word, that defines the ritual of mourning wherein mourners tear their clothes to express their anguish at separating from the dead.

Kriah was born out of a striking and meaningful relationship I had, with my piano teacher -a Holocaust survivor who had been a violinist in a 'Death Band' at a concentration camp. This gave birth to my work which deals specifically with the sense of separation expressed in the ritual of Kriah. Kriah leverages these personal experiences as an entry point to a much larger social condition.

The separation is a violent separation from oneself; of parents from their children; the tearing apart of families; a tearing apart from a possible future; a people violently separated from their culture and a way of being.

It is my deepest desire to shine a light on the process of ritual remembrance by reminding ourselves and future generations and the world 'Never to Forget’.