Women in the Heights - SHADE

My artwork Hebban Olla Vogala 2 is featured at the NoMAA Gallery, New York, NY, in the exhibition Women in the Heights: Shade

Shade explores the intersections of light and shadow; literal, social, and emotional. In every culture and community, shade carries layered meanings: it can offer refuge or concealment, protection or defiance, acceptance, or rejection.

In Hebban Olla Vogala 2, I portray myself as a woman submerging into water; a moment of deep personal immersion and transformation. A whale emerges, evoking my Hebrew name Yona (Jonah), the biblical prophet swallowed by the sea creature and reborn through surrender and divine encounter.

Three figures in black stand as witnesses, recalling the traditional Jewish court (beit din) that accompanies conversion rites of passage.

The title is from the 11th-century Old Dutch fragment "Hebban olla vogala" ("All the birds have begun their nests, except me and you; what are we waiting for?"). It resonates with themes of awakening, and the courage to enter new beginnings, much like Jonah's journey from reluctance to purpose. The painting reflects my own threshold experience: a return to my roots.

February 25 - April 21, 2026
OPENING RECEPTION
Wednesday February 25, 2026 – 6-8pm

NoMAA Gallery
4140 Broadway (176 St)

17th annual exhibition
CURATED BY ANDREA ARROYO

Hebban Olla Vogala 2, 30 × 24 in., Acrylic on Canvas, 2022