Hamsa: Questions, Memories, Insights

This final project deals with the Hamsa as an object of spiritual and identity-related meanings in Israeli culture. Unlike the Hamsa’s existence in the magical realm, the Hamsa in everyday space is a present-absent object. My research focused on everyday space, attempting to understand people’s reasons for keeping a Hamsa, uncover new layers and meanings, and question the supposedly obvious. Through an essay book of linking personal and theoretical dimensions, I ask questions of faith, identity, and belonging. I invite readers to a dialogue about a cultural, material, and visual object that’s either visible or hidden, but that exists in every home. Advisement: Prof. Ory Bartal, Dr. Tal Frenkel Alroy Graphic Design: Efrat Kadari Ettinger Illustration: Leon Maimon