Image of the Week: River of Fate
© 2021 D. Yael Bernhard
The original concept behind River of Fate was to illustrate the story of Exodus from an Egyptian perspective. How might these ancient people of the second millennium BCE have depicted the tale of the Hebrew child who was rescued from the Nile by the daughter of their supreme ruler, and raised in the royal palace?
It's a tale of two societies – one a settled empire depending on the great river for its livelihood; the other herders of animals and before their enslavement, nomads of the desert. It's a story of inverted fate, as a child of poor Hebrew slaves is set adrift on a current of destiny, only to be scooped up and claimed by an Egyptian princess. This lucky boy is both saved from drowning according to Pharaoh's decree, and lifted out of poverty.
Yet his rescue comes with a heavy price. Nobody knows this more than his mother Yocheved, who is suddenly relegated to wet nurse; and his sister Miriam, who clutches her baby brother to her heart, knowing he no longer belongs to his birth family.
This is the moment I chose to illustrate: Yocheved and Miriam as they walk away from their encounter with Pharaoh's daughter, holding baby Moses. Mother and daughter are silent, their faces knit with both worry and relief as their bare feet tread back to their hut of mud and straw. Their precious baby is no longer theirs – but he is alive. Only one thing is certain: though he may suckle for now at his own mother's breast, his life has changed forever. Little do they know the miracles and plagues, challenges and triumphs that lie ahead.
This unique upbringing makes Moses a hybrid of two cultures, endowing him with qualities which, many years later, turn him from shepherd to prophet to leader of his people, able to speak truth to power, yet humble in his origins and in the eyes of God. Flawed but uncorrupted, Moses is revered by the Jewish people for his unwavering dedication and fortitude.
To evoke a feeling of Egyptian art, I restricted the figures to profiles and used the bold pattern of African mud cloth (crude strip-woven cloth dyed with mud from the Niger River that yields black pigment) to symbolize the Nile River. Years ago I brought this cloth back from my travels in West Africa. Last year I decided to sacrifice some of it for collage – and waited several months for the right opportunity to come along. Cutting the rhythmic pattern into curvy strips created a sort of graphic, flowing tension that offset the softer hues of the figures. The canvas is grey linen, providing a mid-tone background that contrasts against both dark and light.
As Passover comes to a close, I'm designing my next Jewish Eye calendar, now in its seventh year. I always try to use an image on the cover that evokes human emotion. Miriam and Yocheved are my choice this year, as they both cherish and release our beloved baby Moses, setting him afloat on the river of his singular, shining and difficult fate.
The Jewish Eye 5782/2022 Calendar of Art will go to press in May. More details to come.
A good week to all!