Siona Benjamin's "Finding Home"

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Finding Home No. 71 (Fereshteh)



Tikkun lies at the heart of Siona Benjamin’s work. “To repair the world through images,” she says, “is what I seek to do.”
Born into the Bene Israel Jewish tradition, Benjamin grew up Jewish in a Muslim and Hindu community while attending Catholic and Zoroastrian schools. Living her life at the intersection of multiple faith traditions, as well as moving from Bombay to Iowa for graduate school and then to New Jersey where she is currently based, has made her desire to find “home” a constant preoccupation of her life. The conclusion Benjamin has come to: home doesn’t exist. “In this increasingly trans-cultural world, home is where you place your tent. The world is getting smaller,” she says.
Benjamin’s work reflects this. Drawing from the faith traditions she has lived within, combining them with modern images and stories, Benjamin’s art is truly multi-cultural. “I have always had to reflect upon the cultural boundary zones in which I have lived,” says Benjamin. These reflections have paid off in the form of beautiful, intricate, and fascinating work that Benjamin produces, so unique to her own exploration of identity while able to maintain a quality that allows her audience to understand and relate to her work. Observing her art is like analyzing fiction, each piece unfolding in meaning, each color and line a different symbol for what Benjamin seeks to communicate. In part, this draws from Benjamin’s background as a set designer (similar to Chagall) and her love for the narrative and characters of the stage. Along with the art pieces displayed in Tikkun’s photo essay, selections from her “Finding Home” series, and those similar to it, Benjamin does art installations involving blue dancers acting out her work. Check out a video about it here.
Siona Benjamin Photo by Michael Stahl

Photo of Siona Benjamin by Michael Stahl


Benjamin is strongly influenced by the faith traditions she has lived within, recycling mythologies from their texts and combining them with stories of the present day. “I may take a story from the Torah, or one from the New York Times,” she says. In doing this, Benjamin sees herself as bridging the gaps between modern and ancient, as well as between different cultures, and creating her own mythology that the audience can identify with.
In doing this, Benjamin wants her audience to challenge conventional perceptions of the boundaries of culture and identity. “I would like my audience to re-evaluate their notions and concepts about identity and race,” she says, “thus understanding that such misconceptions could lead to racism, hate and war.” If one takes the time to look deeply into Benjamin’s work, they can’t help but do just this.
Benjamin’s paintings inspired by Indian/Persian miniatures, using gouche paints and 22K gold leaf. More of her work can be found at her website and at the Flomenhaft Gallery in Chelsea, New York.

0 thoughts on “Siona Benjamin's "Finding Home"

  1. The Bene Israel, and other exotic Jewish communities, are fascinating multicultural phenomena of special relevance to our own age of multiculturalism These historic, and in the case of the Bene Israel ancient, subcultures remain alive and enrich our lives in the expressions of this artist. I will certainly visit her paintings at the F;omenhaft Gallery

  2. Katharine – what a fascinating and I must add well written blog. As a psychotherapist in the borough of Queens, NY, an area of several square miles adjacent to Manhattan, I am privileged to meet people from all parts of the globe who arrive on a daily basis in search of a better “home” for themselves and for their children
    The borough of Queens is distinguished by having the most diverse population of any where in the United States – and is full of parents with big dreams for their children.
    To seek – to create- a “home” is a very profound, complex process. Siona Benjamin’s art seems to convey through beautiful color, line, composition the complexity of that quest – finding – creating – “home.” I look forward to seeing her work.
    vote – 5

  3. I find that your work is not only beautiful but also always thought provoking by expressing your artistic talent with mixture of different cultures, traditions, religions and your experience. Congratulations.

  4. Siona’s painting is simply awsome! Beautiful and so intricate. Keep it up, would love to actually see some.

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