Trigger Warning: This page may contain information relating to someone's gender inequitable experiences including suicides. This may be triggering to readers with similar experiences.
This submission is part of the Expressions of Gender Equity art project - a 2021 International Women's Day initiative. We thank all artists who responded to our artistic briefs and are honoured to showcase their work.
Artist Statement
In response to the art brief:
“The word בדיחה (joke) is depicted.
Hebrew is written from right to left. Therefore, the scene needs to be read accordingly: the letter ב notices that the letter ד is pestering the letter ח with an inappropriate joke (letter י). The letter ה, next to the letter ח, weeps disconsolately. The pink colour of the tear suggests the sexist content of the joke.“
Art Brief
Mattia haLevi
בדיחה – Joke, 2021
Bologna, Italy | Illustration
About the Artist:
Mattia haLevi was born in 1995 in Milan, Italy.
Deeply connected to his family’s Jewish roots, he has combined his passion for graffiti with the study of the Hebrew alphabet, creating a personal and unique style.
His art is minimal and expressive, characterized by thick black contour lines and few additional colours. The letters that make up each word are usually either happy or sad, excited or disappointed: depending on the context they interact with each other and tell a story.
Keith Haring and Genndy Tartakovsky are his main inspirations.
