Calligram

Initially hearing about this project, I struggled with an idea that would allow my to express myself but also had a deeper meaning. Finally it came to me. When I traveled to Israel three years ago, I was young and rather naive. I took for granted the religion and culture around me and although I emerged myself in as much culture as I could, I could never understand why someone would give up their life in the United States to go and live in Israel full time. I couldn't understand why so many found their true home there and how with a country the size of New Jersey, there could be so many political parties. This reoccurring image of the hamsa continued throughout the entire trip. In every marketplace everyone sold them, every person that traveled to Israel came home with something with a hamsa on it and it later became a fashion trend. When I had the opportunity to go back to Israel this past summer, I couldn't believe how naive I was. I met and spent time with Israeli soldiers, both of which had grown up in Israel their entire lives and those who moved to Israel to be in the IDF (Israeli Defense Force). There dedication to their country at such a young age was inspiring. When I truly allowed myself to emerge within the culture, to take a step back from everything I once knew and really felt apart of something, it hit me why so many fought for the right to have Israel as a homelandhat .  When I talked to an israeli Soldier, May, about why she wore a hamsa, she explained to me that although a fashion trend, it truly amplifies all that Israel stands for. Its an open hand in order to show the openness and welcoming nature that Israel has, but it also protects against evils, those of Israel's enemies or those that don't believe Israel belongs to the Jewish people. So this reoccurring image has such greater meaning to me now, has great meaning to Israel as a whole and to Jewish people (although not necessarily always a "Jewish" image).

I chose to incorporate an elephant as a universal sign of luck. The Hamsa connotes Israel and openness, but Israel is constantly under attack, and sometimes needs more than military and civilian support to remain in peace. The elephant is the reminder that sometimes in this world, all we need is a little bit of luck to get by.

Lastly, the "evil eye" is known to ward off evil. Coming from a very superstitious family, I was constantly surrounded by "evil eyes". It felt fitting to put the evil eye in the middle of the elephant to protect the luck the elephant portrays. It was interesting seeing all different variations of the "evil eye" and how many different societies, religions and cultures view it in different terms.

My two basic inspirations helped me to formulate how the final product came out. I thought it was interesting to alter lines and sizes to make them appear as one.

Initially when I put all the pieces together, I believed it was enough to just outline all of the aspects I thought were important, the Hamsa. I didn't believe that filling it in would have enough meaning but i was extremely incorrect. Once I filled in the Hamsa with text to outline the elephant, I realized how much more meaning and definition was put into the piece.