Wedding by the Meter

To Go: New Designs for Jewish Ritual Objects
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Curator: Sharon Weiser-Ferguson

2018

This wedding kit includes a veil, huppah, and a tallit inside a bag. All the elements are woven into a single bolt of fabric from which they may be cut. Varying materials and weaving techniques distinguish the items from one another: the tallit is relatively heavy and made of wool, the veil is gauzy and light, while the huppah incorporates metal thread. Each special detail – from the tallit’s fringes to the veil’s opening – was accounted for during the textile’s creation.

I imagined a couple eloping, two people in love who could not wait any longer…endless scenarios in which a huppah would have to be hastily packed and assembled: they could simply run to the store, buy five meters of a wedding textile, cut, and get married!