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.
