For the sake of Heaven, we must find ways to repair our world and reverse the destructive course of our planet.
In 2018, Beit Venezia decided to initiate an exploration of climate change from a uniquely Jewish perspective and invited artists to create powerful responses. Five international artists were invited to Venice: Meydad Eliyahu, Leora Wise, Lynne Avadenka, Ken Goldman and Andi Arnovitz. These artists explored humanity’s environmental challenges through the experience of the city that, sadly, reflects the climate change crisis: Venice. Ancient, beautiful Venice, with its vibrant and evocative ghetto, was once home to a rich Jewish culture but today is faced with a dwindling Jewish population. It is a city whose very existence is threatened by rising sea levels, tourists, and time. The artists learned from rabbis, scholars and activists. Giuseppe Balzano and Shaul Bassi of Beit Venezia guided them through Jewish Venice, and the artists visited the lagoon. In the renowned Venetian Scuola Internazionale di Grafica, the artists produced a suite of ten etchings, as well as individual sketchbooks. They participated in an ongoing intervention where each artist left their mark, which was then altered by the next artist. Using ready-mades as visually loaded platforms, the artists created tiny worlds that express their anxieties. Dov Abramson created a 60-page contemporary magazine, a graphic, compelling document of the project. Lucia Veronesi documented the process through video.
Living Under Water compels us to think, act and respond. Through multidisciplinary artistic explorations, the viewer confronts and synthesizes the complex crisis that is climate change. The exhibition provides us both with written material to reflect upon and a powerful visual vocabulary to process this global crisis.
