Images top row:
- In the Beginning of / בְּרֵאשִׁית [from the series The Gatekeepers]
- Samech / 43 x 55 inches , c-print [from the series The Gatekeepers]
Bottom row:
- The Fiftieth Gate: the Abyss, 35 x 50.7 inches, C-print [from the series The Gatekeepers]
- Gevurah / גבורה ; ‘let me see no more of this great fire, or I die, 33×51 inches, c-print´[from the series The Gatekeepers]
Chana Wiesenthal Bio:
Since 1990 Chana Wiesenthal Elias has created images using traditional silver halide and Ektachrome films, Polaroid and digital mediums with both 35mm and large format cameras.
Her work explores the mythology and ethos of contemporary culture as it relates to identity, time and place, religious dogma, the construction and re-construction of memory, and the aesthetics of eroticism.
Chana received her MFA from Bard in 1993 and her BFA from SUNY Purchase in 1989.
She currently resides in Fort Lauderdale, FL and actively exhibits her work both nationally and internationally.
For CV and Artist Statement please refer to: www.chanawiesenthalelias.com and Instagram: Wiesenthal.art
About this work:
Since 2017 I have been working on a series titled “The Gatekeepers”. It is a visual catalogue loosely based on the Archangels of Jewish tradition who guard the rivers and gateways of Gan Eden – The Garden of Eden. I am also working on a visual documentation project based on the 49 day Omer period that begins with the first night of Passover and the Jewish exodus from Egypt and culminates with Shavouth and receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai. According to Jewish Tradition, each day of this period corresponds to a different divine attribute; an attribute that can be internalized and perfected in mankind through intentional living.
This series is ongoing – the amount of research of traditional, literary material, commentary, artwork in the public domain and creation of the visual elements that comprise each piece – ensures that production of this series will span a significant period of time. I appreciate work that develops over years/decades – work that chronicles shifts in thought and vision across time. Ultimately this series will be comprised of 72 images. One of the first Diasec prints from this project, ‘Bereshit / In the Beginning of )’ was recently acquired by the Haegeumgang Theme Museum in Geoje,Korea.
