ANTE-CHAMBER

Ante-chamber
Wood, light, iridescent medium, my dog’s ash
120″ x 30″ x 30″
2019

In Jewish practice, we place a stone on the graves of our dead loved ones. The material of stone reminds us that love is eternal. The weight of the stone reminds us of the weight they had in our lives.

The creation of Ante-chamber was a response to multiple coinciding deaths: the funeral of my oldest living relative, taking place one day after the mass shooting of the L’Simcha congregation in Pittsburg in October 2018, and the premature death of my dog. Drawing from the death ritual above, I sculpted this large, black and iridescent object to resemble an important stone I collected. The object hovers over my dogs ashes.

This work is about processing grief. The object and installation are relics of this process.

– Photo Credit: Kate Warren

– The Mourners Kaddish –

“How difficult it is to walk in the valley of the shadow of death.

Our few years on earth are a prologue to the drama which continues beyond time. 

For thus our Sages taught:
Life is an ante-chamber to the palace of eternity.”