Fluid Futures - Living Waters
Fluid Futures is a visual exploration of plastic pollution in our oceans. Once the planet’s living waters, the seas have become a stark symbol of our most visible damage: plastic reaching even the Mariana Trench, and microplastics found in marine life and within our own bodies.
Healing the oceans is not optional; it is essential to healing the world. “You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.” (Pirkei Avot 2:16)
Scroll down beyond the images for more info about the works.
L'avdah u’l’shomrah, Acrylic on Canvas, 48" x 40", 2026
The Wrong Jellyfish, 20 x 16 in., Acrylic on Canvas, 2026
Bal Tashchit, 2026, Acrylic on Canvas, 18" x 24"
Plastic Plague, 20 x 16 inches, Acrylic on Canvas, 2026
Chips in the Covenant, 2026, Acrylic on Canvas, 20 x 20 in.
For if you destroy it, there is no one to repair it after you, 2026, Acrylic on Canvas, 20 inch diameter
Jellyfish Mirage, 20 x 20 in. Acrylic on Canvas, 2026
Bagbound, Acrylic on Canvas, 26 x 40 inches, 2024-2026
Turtle Eats Plastic, 2025, Acrylic on canvas, 26 x 40 inches
Trapped Turtle, Acrylic on Canvas, 30 x 30 inches, 2025
Fish in Plastic Bag, Acrylic on Canvas, 18x30 inches, 2025
Six-Pack Serenade, 16 x 16 inches, Acrylic on Canvas, 2026
Plastic Eating Enzyme, Acrylic on Wood, 18 x 24 inches
Bosch Dreams, 2026, Acrylic on Board, 22 x 27 in.
The Fluid Futures series features paintings of sea life entangled with, or navigating, plastic debris. These images reflect an imperative to care for the Earth. In Jewish tradition Tikkun Olam (“repairing the world”) and the idea of Tikkun Ha’Yam (“repairing the seas”) call us to become active partners in restoration.
I grew up close to the ocean in a part of the Netherlands below sea level, surrounded by rivers, streams, and lakes. In New York I briefly was involved with recreational scuba diving; the otherworldly realm of life underwater has never lost its hold on me.
Through these paintings I explore the beauty and fragility of marine environments, confronting the realities of ocean plastic pollution while offering a message of hope, renewal, and healing. Some works carry whimsical titles that lighten the gravity of the subject, inviting viewers to engage with wonder alongside concern. The series is presented in conversation with the interfaith NOAH group exhibition, viewed through a Jewish lens that emphasizes our responsibility as stewards of creation.
My practice is rooted in Jewish tradition. The Torah commands us “to till and tend” the Earth (Genesis 2:15), while the principle of Bal Tashchit, “do not destroy”, originates in Deuteronomy and was interpreted by Talmudic rabbis nearly 2,000 years ago as a prohibition against waste and needless destruction of any resource. This ancient wisdom informs every aspect of these art works.
The Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture awarded me with a Fellowship grant which supported the creation of this series.
Fluid Futures and the works in the NOAH exhibition continues a larger body of work that functions as calls to action. My developing series on the encounters between Manhattan’s 17th century Dutch settlers, the Lenape, the enslaved, and the first Jews in New Amsterdam further investigates layered histories of place, displacement, resilience, and coexistence; urging reflection on past covenants and present responsibilities.
Whether addressing environmental crisis or historical memory, my paintings contemplate what it means to live with awareness and care in an interconnected world. It reminds us that Jewish tradition affirms the significance of even small acts of repair, that the future remains fluid, and that we are called to shape it through stewardship and repair.
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