Video: Paper Tefillah – In the Artist’s Words

Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik is one of the most innovative Jewish artists working in traditionally papercut technique today. Through his Paper Tefillah series Bialik explores how we engage in prayer, how we connect to G-d, and to each other.

“What I am doing with this series is trying to explore how we engage in prayer, how we communicate with the divine.”

Isaac is interested in how G-d  intervenes in our lives and draws from instances in the Torah, including the burning bush, pillar of fire, and prophetic dreams.

The color backgrounds of his papercuts are made up of comic books which he uses to bring his papercuts to life. Bialik sometimes focusing on a particular character or storyline to bring narrative. The other material Bialik uses are pages from rescued prayer books, worn out books that would otherwise be buried after no longer being usable.

Isaac uses this integration of sacred texts to find a way to bring the sacred books back to the community and give them new life through his art.

For more on Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik’s work visit www.nicejewishartist.com