One of the unique customs preserved in the Yemenite Jewish tradition is the henna ceremony. The ceremony takes place about a week before the wedding, in the presence of the immediate family. My grandmother, Binya Avhar, was an embroidery artist and performed henna ceremonies. She used to dress the brides of the family in the clothes she embroidered and conduct the ceremony — to brew then apply the henna on the hands of the bride and groom.

After her death, the bride's clothes are passed down through the women of the family and they wear them on their henna day. Out of longing to wear the wedding clothes that my grandmother embroidered, I wear the family wedding clothes and wear the family gargush. The embroidery work surrounding the photo is a tribute to the embroidery pieces that my grandmother created, in the center of which she placed family photos, framed and given as a gift or hung in her living room.

Curators: Mia Devash, Rona Singer, Adi Hamer Jacobi

Photo: Ella Barak
Lighting and photo processing: Tomer Zamora
Art: Yasmin Malki

Embroideries:
Yasmin Abergel
Eti Shaham
Hadar Bardogo
Doreen Gal
Sophie Opitz
Kathy Guranda
Raz Gluzman

Framing and printing: negative, workshop

Born in Ashkelon, artist and graphic designer Ohad Hadad mainly deals with questions of identity and place in his work, particularly in relation with his grandmother and his Yemenite-Israeli heritage. He has a Bachelor’s and Masters’ in Visual Communication from Bezalel.

His work has been shown in exhibitions in Israel and around the world.