Ahuva Zaslavsky

“This series of collages is grounded in a personal read of the Golem in the Jewish myth. In this story the Golem was made from raw clay the rabbi extracted from the river. Golem is defined as both “raw materials” and the pupa stage of some insects. Although the story appears in ancient myths, I find it relevant to our present in many
ways. While in popular culture the Golem seems to be a version of a superhero, in my culture it holds the opposite reputation of an outcast person that struggles to find their place in society. I draw contemporary interpretations derived from the Golem including the relationship between the creator/maker and materials—I am struck by the idea
of power struggle between the creator and the work of creation, and
the ability to “kill” and “revive” the creature/material. This reflects on the circular nature of creation and demolition, and the potential of transformation and change. The process of making relies on reusing and recycling my previous work. Through metamorphosis of concepts and materials, new ideas and images emerge. These collages were made from photocopies of images taken of a clay installation on a Washington beach. A three-dimensional Golem turned into a two dimensional one.”

Bio: Ahuva S. Zaslavsky lives and works in Portland, Oregon, USA. Ahuva graduated from The University of the Negev with a BA in behavioral sciences and completed her MFA in Visual Studies at the Pacific Northwest College of Art, earning the LR Visual Studies MFA Thesis Award. Ahuva’s multidisciplinary work is grounded in a personal read of Jewish mythology and reflects on the relationship between the creator/maker and materials, the circular nature of creation and demolition, and the potential of transformation and change. She investigates ideas of social and psychological placement and displacement, the outcast, belonging and rejection, power struggles and unsatisfied human desires. Through painting, printing, sculpting, writing and other mediums, her investigations raise social, theological, political and identity issues, and contemporary environmental concerns.