Artist Statement – Prayer Dove Series

My Prayer Dove series is a poetic meditation on past and present life concerns, expressed through a deeply personal iconography. As a survivor of third-degree burns and skin grafts, the crude stitching and fleshy textures that appear in these works echo both my physical scars and the invisible marks of lived experience. These forms act as symbolic references to internal struggles and the complex, fragile nature of existence in today’s precarious world.

I began creating Prayer Dove sculptures more than ten years ago in response to the death of my father. The process itself—hours of meditative sewing and binding—became a ritual through which I could channel grief, resilience, and the search for meaning. Each dove is a vessel for my emotions, energy, and prayers, bound up with the uncertainties of life in a chaotic era.

Works such as Prayer Dove of Trauma and Transparency embody the weight of personal scars while transforming pain into art. Prayer Dove of Tikvah (Hope) reflects my prayers for peace amid the ongoing conflict in Israel, holding space for both trauma and possibility. My newest piece, Prayer Dove of Or v’Zikaron (אוֹר וזִכָּרוֹן / Light and Remembrance) (2025), continues this journey, serving as a meditation on memory, healing, and resilience.

Though born of personal struggle, these sculptures come from places of love and hope. They are not meant to offer answers, but to hold and release my personal and cultural feelings—an intimate gesture toward peace, remembrance, and the enduring strength of the human spirit.