In the Middle of a Nightmare
“In the Middle of a Nightmare” is artwork by Efrat Baler-Moses (2024, acrylic on canvas, 46 x 40 x 8 inches)
This piece is part of a series directly responding to the Hamas terror attack in Israel on October 7, 2023. It tries to subliminally convey the impact, horror, tragedy, and terror we witnessed. The series centers on portraying mundane objects with concealed narratives, suggesting deeper, unsettling layers beneath seemingly ordinary facades. The intentionally disrupted nature of the artwork’s construction prompts contemplation of the delicate balance between tranquility and chaos, shedding light on the inherent fragility of the human experience.
“In the Middle of a Nightmare”: A central focus in this artwork is a Teddy Bear, symbolizing the vulnerability of innocent lives affected by October 7. The painted forlorn Teddy Bear lying on the floor is echoed in a 3D materialization of a mostly colorless apparition of a stuffed bear that sits atop the canvas. The loose canvas that partially covers the painting is painted like a pink baby blanket, revealing a corner of darkness. On the top right, a strip of landscape shows smoke and fires rising into the sky.
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I have never had a soft fluffy teddy bear in my life. Not even as a child living in Haifa during the Yom Kippur War. But I once gave my own children teddy bears and I understand how both the softness of the pillowy form can bring comfort and that the furry fluff on the outside can evoke warmth. What I noticed about this teddy bear is that when represented in pictorial imagery on the canvas, the bear has fluffy fur, but as our gaze rises to the top of the painting, the three-dimensional teddy bear which protrudes from a landscape that depicts a firey, smokey landscape, has no fluff. The highest part of this picture depicts an image that I could only have imagined as a child during the Yom Kippur War because, in the darkness of a bomb shelter, the only view we had was the seemingly dark shades of blue that are revealed when the canvas appears to be peeled away from the frame.