The Blessings of Memory

A three-phase exhibition inspired by Jewish mourning rituals offered opportunities to heal.

A collection of stones quietly accumulated in an outdoor display overlooking the North Arroyo on the Skirball campus. Initially set in neat piles, the stones soon began to overspill the windowsills on which they rested. Next to these formations, a placard indicated that each stone, placed by both Skirball visitors and employees, represented a life or experience lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though a poignant and sobering reminder of the tremendous pain our community and the world has endured over the past two years, the stone installation also conveyed a sense of strength, reaffirming the healing power of the collective spirit.

Above: Participating in Phase II of Sustain, a couple placed visitation stones in memory of the losses they’ve experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Facing page: At the conclusion of Sustain, the visitation stones will be permanently placed in the Skirball’s North Arroyo.

In the spring of 2021, the Skirball launched the threephase installation Sustain: From Loss to Renewal to give voice to meaningful expressions of grief and resilience and rebuild community following a prolonged period of being apart. “It was important that the Skirball offer a space where our visitors felt welcome and encouraged to reflect on our shared experience, a way to process the trauma and uncertainty of the moment,” stated curator Danielle Killam. The first two phases of the project recalled Jewish traditions of mourning to honor those lives lost during the pandemic. The third phase turned to the arts to inspire hope. For Phase I, from May to August 2021, the Skirball placed a yahrzeit (memorial) candle in the lobby, which had reopened to visitors for the first time in over a year. The Jewish practice of lighting a candle on the anniversary of a loved one’s passing likely originates from a verse in the book of Proverbs 20:27: “The human soul is the light of God.” Accordingly, the candlelight represents the soul, which exists eternally. Upon arriving at the Skirball, visitors were invited to engage in a moment of somber reflection. Although the pandemic has taken the lives of tens of thousands of Angelenos and millions more worldwide, the flickering light offered comfort: the memories of those we have lost still shine bright. Phase II of Sustain, installed between July 2021 and March 2022, encouraged visitors to participate in active reflection and take part in creating a communal space to grieve. As gestures of memorial for someone or something they had lost since early 2020, visitors added stones, called visitation stones in Jewish tradition, to a mobile installation on the Skirball campus. This Jewish custom is thought to have originated with the ancient practice of marking a grave with a pile of stones to protect the burial site and remember its location, a precursor to tombstones. Over time, this practice has evolved into leaving a small stone as a sign of respect for the memory of someone who has passed

away. The stones that have been placed by our guests will become a permanent part of the Skirball campus in the spirit of sustaining and renewing memory. The focus of the third phase of the project, on view from September 2021 through March 2022, was hopeful reflection. Answering a call for submissions by local creatives whose work focused on hope and renewal, Los Angeles–based artist Stephanie Mercado created a print series highlighting the power of community. The commissioned work celebrates seven Angelenos—a caregiver, an educator, a physician, a medical worker, a fire captain, a grocery store employee, and a food service worker—who have demonstrated strength and perseverance in the face of the COVID-19 crisis and the inequities it has heightened. Inspired by interviews with each subject, Mercado’s work contains visual references to their lived experiences. In addition to including imagery that depicts the labor of each subject, Mercado surrounded each portrait with floral elements in recognition of humanity’s deep connection Mercie Ghimire to the cycles of nature. This theme of interconnectedness was also demonstrated in the artist’s process, as she took time to connect and listen to each individual, building community by illuminating the commonalities between us. Exhibited along the Ahmanson Breezeway, Mercado’s artwork greeted guests and staff alike as they returned to the Skirball. Displaying the portraits outside, instead of within a traditional gallery space, gave the work an element of accessibility and, therefore, built a greater sense of community. By Phase III, the Skirball had utilized new spaces on campus, activated visitors, increased virtual accessibility to the project, and most importantly, allowed for the passing of time in order to create a meaningful response to an ongoing crisis. In the spring of 2022, a bench and outdoor signage will be installed to commemorate the project, reminding each of us of our shared experience, communal strength, and the beauty of Jewish traditions.

Stephanie Mercado, Jannette, Domestic Worker & Child Care Provider, 2021. Relief print collage, digital composite, 57 x 29¾" Stephanie Mercado, Bruce Barack MD (1941–2020), Radiologist and Professor of Medicine, UCLA & USC, 2021. Relief print collage, digital composite, 57 x 29¾"

“Jannette is a loving, hard-working, and devoted caretaker and domestic worker. … During the pandemic, Jannette has continued to support families in need of help and to use public transport despite changes in bus routes and schedules, and risk of exposure.” “Bruce Barack spent most of his career as a radiologist and professor. ... He was passionate about helping people, learning about art, and raising orchids, and he expressed kindness, generosity, and compassion to everyone he met. … He passed away from COVID-19 complications on December 31, 2020.”

The quotes featured here are excerpts from artist Stephanie Mercado’s descriptions of the seven individuals depicted in her portraits featured in Phase III of Sustain. Scan the QR code at left to read their full stories.

Stephanie Mercado, Family Medicine Physician with Child and East Los Angeles Medical Team, 2021. Relief print collage, digital composite, 57 x 29¾"

“The family medicine physician pictured here (who chose not to include her name) … is the mother of a toddler and was carrying her child while seeing patients in a medical clinic. … [S]he and the nurses pictured have selflessly served the communities of East Los Angeles, where—as it has in low-income communities globally—the pandemic has heightened prior inequities.” Stephanie Mercado, Riaz Ali, Fire Captain and Paramedic, 2021. Relief print collage, digital composite, 57 x 29¾"

“Riaz Ali, fire captain and paramedic, swore an oath together with his fellow firefighters ‘to protect those who are in danger, those in times of need, and those who they would serve.’ … Riaz and the paramedic and fire team not only have been first responders, helping people who need urgent medical care and transport to hospitals, but also have been fighting wildfires during the pandemic.”