Siona Benjamin is an Indian Jewish artist who incorporates elements of illuminated manuscripts, Indian and Persian miniature painting, Byzantine icons, Indian comics, Bollywood, and pop art into her work. Her bright paintings—usually in gouache—embody all of these influences, as she was raised in Mumbai’s Bene Israel community, educated in Catholic and Zoroastrian schools, and now lives in the United States. The artist identifies as “100 percent Jewish and 100 percent Asian,” a mix she frequently has to explain, but which is also a driving force behind her prolific and fiercely creative work.
Photograph of Tikkun Olam, the painting mentioned in the text.
Siona Benjamin’s Tikkun HaOlam is represented by ACA Galleries.
A pale blue female figure, a portrait of the artist herself, rests on a lotus flower and reaches seven arms upward like a Hindu goddess in one of her most famous works, Tikkun HaOlam (#46 in her Finding Home series). Her hennaed hands are capped with flames, indicating that she is not a goddess, but rather a menorah. This picture has been linked to Chagall’s White Crucifixion in its use of religious symbolism, which depicts Jesus on the cross wearing a tallit loincloth. More cross-cultural emblems adorn Benjamin’s seven-armed woman, including the third eye on her forehead and a hamsa around her neck. The flames are like miniature dwellings.
Source: https://www.jewishreviewofbooks.com/articles/3153/new-indian-jewish-art/
