Tikkun Ha-Olam, Finding Home Series #46

Siona Benjamin

2000

Painting of person standing in tree pose with seven arms in the air representing candelabra, with snake and half-man half-lion figure playing a shofar at the feet of the figure.
Tikkun Ha-Olam (Repair of the World) is from Benjamin’s Finding Home series, in which the Bombay-born Jewish artist raises questions about what and where “home” is, while addressing issues such as identity, immigration, motherhood, and the role of art in social change. She has written that not being able to establish deep roots anywhere has pulled her toward “a seductive spiritual borderland,” where she mixes iconography from different artistic traditions. In this picture, the arms of the blue-skinned Hindu goddess Kali are transformed into the arms of a menorah.

Credits

Collection of Jonathan and Gail Schorsch. Courtesy of the artist, www.artsiona.com and Flomenhaft Gallery, www.flomenhaftgallery.com.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 10.

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Creator Bio

Siona Benjamin

b. 1960

Siona Benjamin is a painter originally from Bombay, now living in the United States. Her work draws upon Indian and Persian miniature paintings, Sephardic and Byzantine icons, and contemporary pop culture for inspiration. Her paintings have been shown in solo exhibitions in the United States and India.

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