Permanent Installations

VISUAL ARTS

Jonathan Hirschfeld – Rabin Peace Memorial

Bas relief – 4 m x 2 m

What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow.

Hillel

Four large stone fragments are aligned vertically; the spaces between them
evoke an ascending path. On the upper three fragments pairs of figures seem
to mirror each other. Moving closer we discover that the bodies are actually
the reflected light of sunken forms, like fossils.
At eye level, two powerful male bodies are folded within themselves like
embryos. Their heads are bowed and their arms fall before them. As they
reach out toward the other they seem barely conscious of their gesture. Are
they awakening? Are they tired? Perhaps they are wounded?
Our eyes are drawn upward following the diagonal fracture separating the
fragments. A couple appears to be standing in a desert landscape. The
ground seems to be flowing in currents, and the rough lines create an
atmosphere of tumult and storm. The man stands behind the woman, his
hand resting on her shoulder. Does he support her? Is she leading him?
Absorbed in their own world, they are oblivious to a couple in the distance
that seems to share their same fate. From afar the distant couple appears so
much smaller. So do their concerns. In whom do we see ourselves?
At the summit, two figures bow toward each other in recognition and respect.
Peace permeates the relationship. One man stands balanced on the edge of a
shoreline, or perhaps a cliff. Suspended in a cascade of flowing matter the
figure on the left appears perfectly balanced, anchored to something within
and yet beyond himself.
Unlike war memorials, The Rabin Peace Memorial does not recall historical
events. It honors the ideal of reciprocity and justice in our relations with
others. The rendering of the figures in sunken relief is an acknowledgement
of the second commandment. The events in the life of Yitzhak Rabin which
inspired this work remind us of how difficult it can be to distinguish illusion
from reality.