Darom Adom

Darom Adom, 2023 

Small children’s chair inspired by the classic “Little Tikes” chair. Hand carved and sanded, oil-painted anemones. 

Cherry Hardwood, Oil Paint 

40 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm 

Artist Statement: 

Darom Adom (red south) is an event that takes place once a year during the months of January  and February which marks the bloom of red anemones—in Hebrew, kalaniyot. The anemones  dot green hills all over the south of Israel (an area known as the Gaza envelope) as if they are  breaking out in hives—hence the name. Each year, visitors flock the area to picnic, cycle, and  hike amongst the bloom. 

On October 7th, Hamas, a terrorist organization, infiltrated a number of Israeli kibbutzim in the  envelope and brutally murdered and kidnapped hundreds of civilians, among them children and  infants.

This chair is a memorial to childhood. Specifically, to childhoods that have been cut short. It is a  monument to the dozens of infants and children that were robbed of their childhood and robbed of their future.

Anemones don’t grow very tall, 60 centimeters at most. Before the attack, I intended for this  chair to be a celebration of childhood and of the joy of growing up. I wanted to paint climbing  roses and ivy that could easily reach the top of the chair and beyond, in order to represent  children growing and blossoming.  

I wanted my piece to resemble an abandoned chair, left in a field of anemones. The other day  my father, when told about my chair, sent me a photo of an anemone that has already bloomed. Even though there are few now, by January there will be plenty. They will blossom and grow in fields surrounding abandoned houses and blood-stained rooms. They will blossom and grow even though the children will not.