Shany Abdallah Naji is a series of graphic works that revives a family naming tradition. The tradition, which ended when the family moved from Iraq to Israel, gave a newborn a first name followed by the names of the father and the grandfather. The series was created after old family immigration papers were found. Five mixed media works, four measuring 50 by 70 centimetres and one measuring 75 by 70 centimetres, weave imagery into Hebrew calligraphy inspired by Hebrew manuscripts from Iraq, Yemen and Morocco made between the 12th and 15th centuries.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Shany Abdalla Naji is a series of Graphic works attempting to revive the name giving tradition in the designer’s family.
This tradition that broke upon arriving to Israel from Iraq, consists of naming a new born and adding the names of his father and grandfather. Dvora learned all this recently after finding her family's immigration papers. This discovery left her excited thinking names can encompass within them the changes of tradition and culture and it made her question how her own name fits in her family’s ancestry - Dimensions & Packaging
- 4 works 50*70 cm
1 work 75*70 cm - Tags
- Calligraphy, Typography, Hebrew, Eastern
- Production Technology
- Mixed Media
- Design Challenge
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- Project Duration
- 2018-2019, Israel
- Operation Flow
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- Research
- For ages, the Middle East has been a meeting point for eastern and western cultures. This region has seen empires rise and fall, ever changing borders and frequent migrations of people looking for a fresh start. But not only the people journeyed across the land, with them came their family history, their stories, ideas, ideals and traditions.
This is the story of Dvora’s grandmother - Juliette Abdallah Moshe.
Juliette immigrated to Israel from Iraq in 1951 with her husband and three young sons. Her birth given name, Juliette Abdallah Moshe, as were the names of her ancestors, consisted of her first name followed by the names of her father and grandfather. When she arrived in Israel her name was changed to “Juliette Dvora” as part of the process of integration. Thus, the tradition linking the children’s names to those of their ancestors was broken. Dvora learned all this only in recent years after finding her grandmother’s original immigration papers. This discovery left her very excited thinking that a name of a man can encompass within it the changes of tradition and culture as it consists of the names of the previous family generations. The excitement was followed by a few questions though. Why is Shany’s name so different from the traditional and deeply rooted names in her family’s ancestry? Where and how does her name fit in there?
In this project She seeks to revive the name giving tradition that still lived on in the time of her grandmother’s birth. She does so through imagery woven into Hebrew calligraphy inspired by 12th-15th century Hebrew manuscripts from Iraq, Yemen and Morocco - Inspiration
- In this project Dvora seeks to revive the name giving tradition that still lived on in the time of her grandmother’s birth. She does so through imagery woven into Hebrew calligraphy inspired by 12th-15th century Hebrew manuscripts from Iraq, Yemen and Morocco
- Image Credits
- Shany Dvora
- Patents
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