Why
“Why” is artwork by Efrat Baler-Moses (2023, mixed media on Yupo paper , 11 x 14 inches)
“Why” is part of a series directly responding to the Hamas terror attack in Israel on October 7, 2023. The aim is to subliminally convey the impact, horror, tragedy, and terror and their effects on the human experience during times of upheaval, shedding light on the inherent fragility in our lives. The series centers on portraying mundane objects with concealed narratives, suggesting deeper, unsettling layers beneath seemingly ordinary facades. In this piece, there are three abandoned children’s alphabet blocks (W, H and Y letters) on the ground. The background alludes to a sense of impending disaster and upheaval, with strong and harsh brushstrokes.
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I like this piece because it signifies the naivety of childish play. Although there is a harsh brushed background, the foreground appears as a rough perhaps rushed arrangement of blocks commonly applied to constructing toy structures as part of creative play. Contrasting intellectual journeys of enquiry within the context of imminent forthcoming danger is representative of how absurd and incongruous the urgent survival reality is, in this space. An adult may perceive the level of jeopardy very differently from the curious playful enquiring child. Only a child would stop to ask why when presented with this level of danger. Only child’s play would construct rational reasoning for this level of brutality. The viewer is invited to gaze at the image both through the eyes of the child as well as the eyes of the adult and conclude as an adult surely would, that the childish construction of reason, must be put behind us for survival’s sake.