JMM: In Patterns, you transform wallpaper—a typically overlooked backdrop—into the central narrative device. Why did you choose this medium?
JR: Patterns aims to immerse the viewer in the experience of how patterns of behavior, reactions and attitudes inherited and absorbed from family and community become background noise that we stop hearing, just as we never really think about the wallpaper in the family home. Through an introspective process, the works aims to illuminate everyone’s own psychic wallpaper.
JMM: Patterns was initially exhibited at FENTSTER (Yidd. window), an exhibition space located in the storefront window of the Jewish community, Makom, in downtown Toronto. How did the public-facing nature of this space influence the way you approached the work?
JR: I was very motivated to create an inviting work that would engage audiences of all kinds, whether they were intentional patrons, or casually passing by on the street. I wanted the piece to be clear regardless of context, with enough information embedded within that any viewer could glean and process the dense visuals I drew. I’m pleased the piece is currently touring Europe and can continue to connect with audiences.
JMM: What were reactions like?
JR: Overall, the reaction to Patterns has been very validating. Many shared how they had similar experiences in childhood, processing unspoken past trauma and absorbing the unseen lessons of past lives not even experienced. This reaction has been universal for both Jewish and non-Jewish audiences. The specificity of the piece has the opposite effect of broadening its universal appeal. Many can see themselves and their own experiences in the work, regardless of background.
JMM: Patterns deals with the topic of intergenerational trauma. How does your family background influence your work as an artist, esp. in your project Self-Loving Jew?
JR: Intergenerational trauma shapes my family both as individuals and collectively. Three generations later, my family is still deeply broken from the horrors of surviving the Holocaust. Self-Loving Jew is an attempt to explore this trauma, its roots and threads and face it directly with love and hope for healing. As the multimedia, multifaceted Self-Loving Jew project evolves, it becomes more and more about my family’s story. I am exploring these themes in detail in my soon-to-be-completed graphic novel “Self-Loving Jew Needs Love”.
Read more about the projct on the artist’s website.