Garment of light...
This piece explores the midrash (Bereishit Rabba 20:12) which describes the clothing given to Adam and Eve by God as ‘garments of light’ rather than skins. In the Zohar (Bereishit 224a), these garments are mentioned, but they are meant to be made by people, not God. Our days are raw material given by God in which to live meaningfully. Those enriched days will ‘clothe’ us when we stand in judgement after death. The clothes are the personal identity formed in a lifetime. God does, however, play a part. Not as tailor but repairer. That is, Adam and Eve’s sin cost them their ‘clothing.’ In their nakedness they felt shame and repented. God encouraged them by returning their garments of light. Clothing in these texts is a metaphor for a self-constructed identity – a unique form fitting a unique individual. This parallels the tradition of bespoke (made-to-measure) tailoring. The tailor takes into account all the client’s idiosyncrasies – how they stand, their movements, anatomy etc. - when making a garment.
The design of this art-piece is a deliberate mix of male and female styling. The Midrash is embroidered in white on the collar. The Zohar is printed in red at the bottom of the coat. The fabric is synamay; chosen for its quality to hold a shape while remaining lightweight and transparent, its properties evoke the ‘garment of light’. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 38a) states that after death the body crumbles away like dust, yet the soul remains standing like a garment. This soul of light has been tailored by us in a lifetime, but with God-given repairs.
The design of this art-piece is a deliberate mix of male and female styling. The Midrash is embroidered in white on the collar. The Zohar is printed in red at the bottom of the coat. The fabric is synamay; chosen for its quality to hold a shape while remaining lightweight and transparent, its properties evoke the ‘garment of light’. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 38a) states that after death the body crumbles away like dust, yet the soul remains standing like a garment. This soul of light has been tailored by us in a lifetime, but with God-given repairs.
