Art, Curatorial Projects > Sukkat Babatha

Papyrus Yadin XX, Sale of Date Crop, plaster bowl, Bar Kokhba
plaster, polyester resin, wire
9 in. x 25 3/4 in. diameter
2005
shaped after the basket in which Babatha artifacts ancient basket, Bar Kokhba
plaster, paper
29 in. x 9 in. x 20 in.
2005
text on rim translated from documents in Babatha's archive, Bar Kokhba
plaster, wool
9" H x 25" dia.
2005
Drawing after a jug belonging to Babatha, Bar Kokhba
pencil, gold paint
8 in. x 10 in.
2005
Drawing after an incense shovel belonging to Babatha, Bar Kokhba
pencil, gold paint
8 in. x 10 in.
2005
Drawing after Babatha's Frying Pan, Bar Kokhba
paper, pencil, gold paint
8 in. x 10 in.
2005

Sukkat Babatha is inspired by the life of Babatha, a woman from the southern end of the Dead Sea. She fled from the Romans in 134 C.E. not only with documents but with personal items as well: keys, bowls, knives, pans, wool, a ‘jewelry’ box, a mirror… objects of life, hope and future. These were discovered in a cave in Nahal Hever in 1961.

All this occurred against the stunning landscape and singular agricultural conditions of the Dead Sea. Through experience of the landscape and investigation of the agricultural and natural history of the region today, I construct objects which revisit her place, her personal effects. I hope to construct for the viewer a sense of that place and historical moment. Sukkat Babatha was funded by a grant from the Hadassah Brandeis Research Institute.