<An Artist Embraces the Metaphorical Cracks of Matzah — Art News
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An Artist Embraces the Metaphorical Cracks of Matzah

Artist Emily Drew Miller has created a series of collograph prints titled "Matzot" by running sheets of matzah through a printing press. The resulting black-and-white impressions capture the intricate textures and cracks of the unleavened bread, transforming the traditional Passover food into a medium for her grid-based painting practice. The series began as a personal ritual around the holiday and has evolved into a decade-long exploration.

The work serves as a political and social commentary on contemporary Jewish identity and division. Miller states the fractures in the matzah prints reflect the profound disconnection many Jewish people feel from one another, particularly between those rooted in tradition and diaspora and those motivated by territorial claims and Zionism. The series uses a universally shared symbol—matzah—to highlight both a point of cultural convergence and the deep ideological rifts within the global Jewish community, especially in light of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.