This piece was created by Geffen and Alma. Geffen, along with her family, was saved when her 23-year-old brother killed three terrorists who entered their home. They hid in their safe room for 10 hours while the rest of their home was burned. Alma was a hostage herself; she and her brother were released on November 25. Her mother was killed on October 7 and her father was killed as a hostage and his body remains there.
The work depicts an all-too-familiar hostage ribbon composed of the “bring them home” necklaces against a bright yellow background, the color of the ribbons.
In their own words:
I’m Geffen, and I’m Alma, and we are from Kibbutz Be’eri. We are 14 years old. On October 7, we were in our homes. The time we mentioned in our work — 6:30 a.m. — is the time the terrorists came into our Kibbutz.
The blood represents our brothers and sisters from the Kibbutz who were murdered. The shattered glass represents the broken windows of our houses.
The fire and dirt represent our burnt homes in the days after October 7. Our friends’ blood is engraved on the big symbol for the hostages in the center, which represents our hostages that are still there and to show they are not forgotten.
The number of hostages is written in burnt wood underneath.
We wanted our work to scare people and shock anyone who saw it. We wanted it to “scream” October 7, so that people will understand a little bit of what we experienced that day, and still do, just by looking at the art.
While working on our art, we felt empowered. That we have a purpose — to tell the story and explain this situation all over the world, as girls who experienced October 7 as a personal and very significant experience.
