F-Ezra: Made Me a Woman is a comment on the gender bias inherent in religion and Old World cultures.
Encircling the base of the portraits of the glamorous women, the Hebrew text is an excerpt from an archaic morning blessing recited by devout men, that gives thanks for their not being “made a woman". The backdrop is a section of the Bombay synagogue my mother's family attended; the women are from my mother's family whose surname is Ezra.
References to the "harem", as well as modesty or hiding, are suggested by the brass-studded veil, which also acts as armor. Here, the usual tassel at the top of a fez is substituted by the long braid.
Encircling the base of the portraits of the glamorous women, the Hebrew text is an excerpt from an archaic morning blessing recited by devout men, that gives thanks for their not being “made a woman". The backdrop is a section of the Bombay synagogue my mother's family attended; the women are from my mother's family whose surname is Ezra.
References to the "harem", as well as modesty or hiding, are suggested by the brass-studded veil, which also acts as armor. Here, the usual tassel at the top of a fez is substituted by the long braid.
