The painting Book of Yona 8, from the series Book of Yona, features an augmented reality video accessible via smartphones to offer additional layers and gleanings that enhance the viewing experience.
The painting:
The artwork echoes Verwer’s journey from Europe to New York, from Catholicism to Judaism. Conversion requires ritual immersion, a submersion of the body in a pool of “living water”, to symbolize a change-of-soul. A play on her first name and the Biblical figure of Jonah, The Book of Yona 8 serves as metaphor for immersion in the mikveh.
The video:
Verwer as a toddler submerged in water and as an adult at a New York shoreline, interspersed with Hebrew passages from The book of Jonah.
This image below is a simulation of the augmented reality effect.
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Book of Yona 8
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Viewing Book of Yona 8 displayed in a gallery, with its embedded video
According to the Zohar, the story of Yonah is an allegory for the relationship of the soul to physical world. On Yom Kippur we read about the journey of the soul and the importance of repentance. The Jewish people are compared to a dove, יונה.