Jenna Tas

The Netherlands, b. 1933

Central to Tas’s work is a concern with questions of life and death. Looking at life as ephemeral, transient, and passing is the lens through which she looks at the world around her and is a way to deal with the past, a past of suffering, violence, and sadness. She attempts to highlight the current rise in anti-Semitism by remembering past events. For EVA International, her installation, ‘Oh Mnemosyne’ – (The Stone Drawings) (1992), comprises a large number of intimate drawings that individually represent the anonymous burial of individuals who lost their lives in the Holocaust. On top of each unique drawing, she lays a small slate as a way to bring back distinct personalities of those buried in mass graveyards. Tas originally made this work of around four hundred drawings in response to her visit to Lodz, Poland, in 1992, where she participated in the 7th International Textile Triennial, which was held in what used to be a Jewish-owned textile factory.

Jenna Tas is an artist who works across disciplines in drawing, painting, photography, and installation. She has recently presented a solo exhibition at Museum Elburg, The Netherlands (2016), and has exhibited widely throughout her career.

(Text: 38th EVA International catalogue)