Third Place Warm Glass - "The Impossibility of Historical Resonance"

A particularly antiquated piece of literature is the Talmudic Tractate Sotah, or The Ordeal of Bitter Water. Sotah refers to a woman whose husband believes her guilty of adultery. Across multiple volumes, the tractate labors to outline what the husband and Rabbi are to do with this woman. A sotah is subjected to a ritualized trial by the Temple where she may be stripped and humiliated in front of a public audience.

The Impossibility of Historical Resonance II uses the transparent nature of glass to reference the layered and complicated nature of historical recollection and transmission as well as the difficulties of emotionally accessing history. The pages of a book from Tractate Sotah are recreated in glass and fused together, making it nearly impossible to read. The words quickly become visual noise and the layers obfuscate each other.