In curating the pieces I did, I wanted to represent the key aspects of my identity. Those being, my love of nature, my Judaism, my deep introspection and reflection on the world, and how those aspects of my identity intersect. One of my biggest inspirations in illustration based works, that ties many of them together, is David Friedman, who injects multifaceted symbolism into his works that can be interpreted in a variety of ways, using the study of Kabbalah as a basis. Contrasting this, I have always valued the aspect of art that is taking a simple concept and running with it, and representing it. I believe this is a core aspect of art, and thus I have taken the deeply symbolic, and surface level meaning within the world of art and interspersed both throughout my portfolio.

The pieces most pivotal in showing the introspection in my work are In My Heart of Hearts and Freeing the Bees. Although one is a painting and the other is a sculptural piece, they tie in together in a way that tells a story. While In My Heart of Hearts focuses on the darker aspects of my journey with mental illness and adhd, presenting myself as a figure trapped in a cavity of my own heart, Freeing the Bees tells the story of the positive part of my journey, learning to work with and free the metaphorical bees in my head, fostering a sort of garden. And while those pieces are most notable in representing the introspective nature of my artwork, HaNephesh and Etz HaChaim and A Finely Pruned Pomegranate most notably represent the inclusion of my judaism in my artwork. Both display closely related Jewish symbols, the pomegranate and the tree of life, and reflect on how I relate those concepts to other aspects of my life and the world around me, whether it be my love of bonsai or naturalism and spiritualism.

All of my pieces, even if they more strongly represent one particular aspect of my identity, tie in to nature and my love of the natural world, and this truly unites my collection.

I think I have been successful in creating a collection of works that deeply represents my identity, and when people look at all the aspects of these pieces, it should paint it’s own picture in a way, and tell it’s own story of who I am inside, and how I see the world outside. I also hope my work helps people understand my perspective and cultural context, through the lens of a Jewish neurodivergent person.