Duty of the Hearts: A projected drawing and love letter by Yifat Bezalel

Open­ing Recep­tion: Sun­day June 11, 11am-5pm

For many years I bor­rowed images from oth­er cul­tures relat­ed to West­ern art his­to­ry, main­ly the Renais­sance. I con­tem­plat­ed it, and at that moment, I felt the need to return home. I am quest­ing the mys­ti­cal palaces where the shekhi­nah wan­ders home­less and des­ti­tute. Shekhi­nah is infi­nite­ly miss­ing her soil, her ground, and her mas­cu­line coun­ter­part. (After the destruc­tion of the Sec­ond Holy Temple)

Yifat Beza­lel​’s con­cept of ​“Shekhi­nah” is a cen­tral theme that often weaves through her art­work. Derived from Hebrew mys­ti­cism and Jew­ish the­ol­o­gy, the shekhi­nah (שכינה) denotes the dwelling or set­tling of the pres­ence of the divine and fem­i­nine. Yifat explores this con­cept as a sym­bol of spir­i­tu­al con­nec­tion, inner strength, and the embod­i­ment of divine ener­gy. Her inter­pre­ta­tion of Shekhi­nah goes beyond reli­gious bound­aries, tran­scend­ing cul­tur­al and spir­i­tu­al con­texts. It serves as a reminder of the uni­ver­sal human expe­ri­ence and the poten­tial for divine con­nec­tion that resides with­in each indi­vid­ual, regard­less of their beliefs or backgrounds.

The image slow­ly reveals and unfolds itself on the paper; it ris­es from the white void, curls and folds. It is first and fore­most a record of time and of move­ment, and only then does it evolve to become an idea or a story.

Res­i­den­cy Unlim­it­ed (RU) is one of the 2023 Gov­er­nors Island Arts Orga­ni­za­tions in Residence