Artist Racheli Litwin presents her new exhibit - “Family Album” – which is a tapestry of her works describing the story of the Litwin Family over the generations.  Her personal journey in search of her family’s story begins with a drawing of her parent’s wedding, which took her an entire year to create.  The excellent reviews of her work encouraged her to focus on the subject of the family portrait, both due to the great challenge she faced in the transition from the photographed image to the painting and due to her great curiosity, which increased following the death of her father Moshe, to explore her family images.

The photographs selected by Racheli are mostly posed photos.  Some were photographed at “Zalmania” or at photo shops, to commemorate the past.  Others were taken at family events, or on regular days with no particular reason, but over the years, they have become symbols of various periods and events and used to create memories.

The specific story of the Litwin Family is woven from the history of Israel’s early Jewish settlement and includes many personal stories.  The journey begins with her pioneer grandparents, who immigrated with the 3rd and 4th Aliyah.  Some of the family settled in the developing Tel Aviv and others pursued their dreams in agricultural settlements in Even Yehuda.  The family grew in the new country, some joined the ranks of the British army, the Haganah and the IDF, losing members from the first generation of children.  This is one of the central narratives in the story of the establishment of the State of Israel, and Rachel’s family portrait succeeds in depicting this story and adding its personal anecdotes and memories to the collective national memory.

Many of the selections were made using black and white photos or photographs which had faded over the years.  Color was restored through research and personal feelings.  In portraits with couples, the artist brought the characters closer to one another,  and although this differed from the original photo, it brought the images alive and closer to the spectator.

Lev Hapark Community Center is located at 3 Yair Stern Street – Raanana.

In the photo:  Portraits by Racheli Litwin – Courtesy of the Raanana Municipality Spokesman’s Office