mir veln zey iberlebn // we will outlive them // מיר װעלן זײ איבערלעבן
the story of these yiddish words is rooted in Jewish RITUAL, RESILIENCE, & RESISTANCEagainst forces of yt supremacy, violence, & genocide.
Mir veln zey iberlebn comes from a Yiddish resistance song; "In 1939, a group of Hasidic Jews from the Polish city of Lublin were backed up against barbed wire and ordered to sing & dance to their own execution. One man began singing an old Yiddish song with the refrain 'lomir zich iberbetn'—'let us reconcile.' Nobody joined. Another person then started singing a variation: 'mir veln zey iberlebn'—'we will outlive them.'Instantly the song took hold among the entire people, until it catapulted [them] into a stormy and feverish dance. The commander at first laughed, historian Moshe Prager writes, but then 'he realized they weren’t accommodating him; they were defeating him. He ordered them to stop, but they continued. Even when the SS troops charged at them, swinging whips and clubs,' they did not stop singing.”
I want to create art that represents the powerful, earthbending resilience of Jewish people- the beauty and boundlessness of our joy, songs, movements, culture, rituals, magic, & traditions despite millennia of genocides, forced displacements, persecution, ethnic cleansings, sexual & gendered violence, & immeasurable loss.I also want to highlight the beauty and power of diaspora- of the many lands we've inhabited, the flight of our souls, the mountains and oceans and rivers we've crossed, the whispers across time and space that somehow, tenderly & ceaselessly, kept our rituals, languages, & culture alive; breathing, infinite.
this print has gone through many transformations to reach it's final form. through each transformation, i found myself with more ideas for the jewish symbolism, healing plants, & ancestral practices of mysticism that i wanted to include.this print contains bird & soul symbolism woven together with ayin hara- the evil eye- for protection, as well as plants like cedar, pomegranate, rue, & olive branches drawn from ancient jewish traditions of herbalism, healing, divination, & protection magic.i used yellow text to allude to the magen david patches & bands that so many of our ancestors were forced to wear for centuries in diaspora to identify themselves as jews. a reclamation of identity & visibility. of yellow's warmth & power, like the sun, always encompassing us.
Birds are mystical beings; they represent everything from vision, foresight, & wisdom, to freedom, liberation, hope, music, life, & the infiniteness of movement, diaspora, and eternity.In Jewish mythology, the Garden of Eden- גַּן־עֵדֶן- contains a Tree of life, or the Tree of Souls. Jewish legends envision our souls as being bird-like; fluttering, free, boundless in time and space. The Tree blossoms and produces new souls that join into the Guf, the 'Treasury of Souls,' sometimes imagined as a columbarium or birdhouse. The literal translation for guf, גּוּף, is 'body'- showing not only that our divinity is connected to our bodies on this plane, but to all the bodies & souls in our collective.”According to Rabbi Isaac Luria, trees are resting places for souls; sparrows can see the soul's descent, explaining their joyous chirping. The Tree of Souls produces all the souls that have ever existed, or will ever exist. The mystic significance of the Guf is that each person is important and has a unique role which only their unique soul can fulfill."
print is 12” x 16” & made with eco-conscious, durable, premium glossy photo paper.
all packaging used for shipping is 100% recycled & biodegradable.
*wall representation isn’t exact & is intended to give an idea of sizing
the story of these yiddish words is rooted in Jewish RITUAL, RESILIENCE, & RESISTANCEagainst forces of yt supremacy, violence, & genocide.
Mir veln zey iberlebn comes from a Yiddish resistance song; "In 1939, a group of Hasidic Jews from the Polish city of Lublin were backed up against barbed wire and ordered to sing & dance to their own execution. One man began singing an old Yiddish song with the refrain 'lomir zich iberbetn'—'let us reconcile.' Nobody joined. Another person then started singing a variation: 'mir veln zey iberlebn'—'we will outlive them.'Instantly the song took hold among the entire people, until it catapulted [them] into a stormy and feverish dance. The commander at first laughed, historian Moshe Prager writes, but then 'he realized they weren’t accommodating him; they were defeating him. He ordered them to stop, but they continued. Even when the SS troops charged at them, swinging whips and clubs,' they did not stop singing.”
I want to create art that represents the powerful, earthbending resilience of Jewish people- the beauty and boundlessness of our joy, songs, movements, culture, rituals, magic, & traditions despite millennia of genocides, forced displacements, persecution, ethnic cleansings, sexual & gendered violence, & immeasurable loss.I also want to highlight the beauty and power of diaspora- of the many lands we've inhabited, the flight of our souls, the mountains and oceans and rivers we've crossed, the whispers across time and space that somehow, tenderly & ceaselessly, kept our rituals, languages, & culture alive; breathing, infinite.
this print has gone through many transformations to reach it's final form. through each transformation, i found myself with more ideas for the jewish symbolism, healing plants, & ancestral practices of mysticism that i wanted to include.this print contains bird & soul symbolism woven together with ayin hara- the evil eye- for protection, as well as plants like cedar, pomegranate, rue, & olive branches drawn from ancient jewish traditions of herbalism, healing, divination, & protection magic.i used yellow text to allude to the magen david patches & bands that so many of our ancestors were forced to wear for centuries in diaspora to identify themselves as jews. a reclamation of identity & visibility. of yellow's warmth & power, like the sun, always encompassing us.
Birds are mystical beings; they represent everything from vision, foresight, & wisdom, to freedom, liberation, hope, music, life, & the infiniteness of movement, diaspora, and eternity.In Jewish mythology, the Garden of Eden- גַּן־עֵדֶן- contains a Tree of life, or the Tree of Souls. Jewish legends envision our souls as being bird-like; fluttering, free, boundless in time and space. The Tree blossoms and produces new souls that join into the Guf, the 'Treasury of Souls,' sometimes imagined as a columbarium or birdhouse. The literal translation for guf, גּוּף, is 'body'- showing not only that our divinity is connected to our bodies on this plane, but to all the bodies & souls in our collective.”According to Rabbi Isaac Luria, trees are resting places for souls; sparrows can see the soul's descent, explaining their joyous chirping. The Tree of Souls produces all the souls that have ever existed, or will ever exist. The mystic significance of the Guf is that each person is important and has a unique role which only their unique soul can fulfill."
print is 12” x 16” & made with eco-conscious, durable, premium glossy photo paper.
all packaging used for shipping is 100% recycled & biodegradable.
*wall representation isn’t exact & is intended to give an idea of sizing
the story of these yiddish words is rooted in Jewish RITUAL, RESILIENCE, & RESISTANCEagainst forces of yt supremacy, violence, & genocide.
Mir veln zey iberlebn comes from a Yiddish resistance song; "In 1939, a group of Hasidic Jews from the Polish city of Lublin were backed up against barbed wire and ordered to sing & dance to their own execution. One man began singing an old Yiddish song with the refrain 'lomir zich iberbetn'—'let us reconcile.' Nobody joined. Another person then started singing a variation: 'mir veln zey iberlebn'—'we will outlive them.'Instantly the song took hold among the entire people, until it catapulted [them] into a stormy and feverish dance. The commander at first laughed, historian Moshe Prager writes, but then 'he realized they weren’t accommodating him; they were defeating him. He ordered them to stop, but they continued. Even when the SS troops charged at them, swinging whips and clubs,' they did not stop singing.”
I want to create art that represents the powerful, earthbending resilience of Jewish people- the beauty and boundlessness of our joy, songs, movements, culture, rituals, magic, & traditions despite millennia of genocides, forced displacements, persecution, ethnic cleansings, sexual & gendered violence, & immeasurable loss.I also want to highlight the beauty and power of diaspora- of the many lands we've inhabited, the flight of our souls, the mountains and oceans and rivers we've crossed, the whispers across time and space that somehow, tenderly & ceaselessly, kept our rituals, languages, & culture alive; breathing, infinite.
this print has gone through many transformations to reach it's final form. through each transformation, i found myself with more ideas for the jewish symbolism, healing plants, & ancestral practices of mysticism that i wanted to include.this print contains bird & soul symbolism woven together with ayin hara- the evil eye- for protection, as well as plants like cedar, pomegranate, rue, & olive branches drawn from ancient jewish traditions of herbalism, healing, divination, & protection magic.i used yellow text to allude to the magen david patches & bands that so many of our ancestors were forced to wear for centuries in diaspora to identify themselves as jews. a reclamation of identity & visibility. of yellow's warmth & power, like the sun, always encompassing us.
Birds are mystical beings; they represent everything from vision, foresight, & wisdom, to freedom, liberation, hope, music, life, & the infiniteness of movement, diaspora, and eternity.In Jewish mythology, the Garden of Eden- גַּן־עֵדֶן- contains a Tree of life, or the Tree of Souls. Jewish legends envision our souls as being bird-like; fluttering, free, boundless in time and space. The Tree blossoms and produces new souls that join into the Guf, the 'Treasury of Souls,' sometimes imagined as a columbarium or birdhouse. The literal translation for guf, גּוּף, is 'body'- showing not only that our divinity is connected to our bodies on this plane, but to all the bodies & souls in our collective.”According to Rabbi Isaac Luria, trees are resting places for souls; sparrows can see the soul's descent, explaining their joyous chirping. The Tree of Souls produces all the souls that have ever existed, or will ever exist. The mystic significance of the Guf is that each person is important and has a unique role which only their unique soul can fulfill."
print is 12” x 16” & made with eco-conscious, durable, premium glossy photo paper.
all packaging used for shipping is 100% recycled & biodegradable.
*wall representation isn’t exact & is intended to give an idea of sizing