Peace Gate

A large arched gate loom in the foreground, straddling a serpentine road that winds its way through a peaceful and verdant landscape. The painting is very textured with layers and layers of 4 words- life, love, justice, and peace in Arabic, English, and Hebrew.

This painting was made in 1988, during the first Intifada, and was a collaborative work painted by myself and four 10th and 11th grade students from Tarsiha (Christian) and Mi'ilya (Christian) in northern Israel, where I was an artist-in-residence. Every day we were overwhelmed with words and images in the papers, television, and radio. We felt that as artists, we needed to create an image that represented our desire for a path to a war-free future. The painting is a visual mantra, made by multiple layers of 4 words stenciled in English, Arabic, and Hebrew: life, love, justice, and peace.