I visited Beit HaLochem in Haifa, to see special works of art, created by immigrants, the refugees of the Holocaust and World War II, who arrived in dilapidated ships to Haifa and were deported to neighboring Cyprus.
| Watch a video that presents a guided tour of the exhibition "Resurrection Torch" in Beit HaLochem
Moshe Fromin, the initiator and one of the curators of the exhibition, welcomed me at the entrance with open arms and a lot of love and gave me a comprehensive overview of the past, present and the exhibition and the work as a whole. Chaya ben Ya'akov "Cyprus girl", a volunteer at the Atlit camp, which was also a detention camp for the British, helped Moshe with treasures and crafts.
The year spent in detention in Cyprus
Moshe spent about a year, between the years 1947 and 1948, when he was seven years old, in Detention Camp 55 in Cyprus, then called a summer camp, of Indian tents, an important period in the stations of his life that will certainly not be forgotten. It was not a summer camp as we know it today, of Gdanah and Scouts, and despite that, Moshe has fond memories of that time.
Even then, in Cyprus, Moshe Fromin began to sculpt and engage in art and according to his words from the age of three his visual memories found a place and meaning in his life. During the detention period in Cyprus, all kinds of instructors were sent to the camps from the country, some of them art teachers, one of the more famous future painters was Mordechai Ardon from whom Moshe received inspiration at such a young age and considered himself a student.
When did the decision to initiate an exhibition pay off in his heart?
Last year, Moshe initiated a conference of the Jews of Cyprus, which was attended by more than two hundred and fifty participants both from Israel and from different parts of the world, and there he announced an exhibition "Beacon of Resurrection" and asked his fellow participants to collect the various works, most of which were created in the detention camps in Cyprus and later here in Israel upon their final arrival in Israel. Insurers.
The exhibition itself
The exhibition is divided into two parts, the lower part belongs to contemporary artists such as Mordechai Arbel, Nira Raz, Moshe Ezard and others and Moshe calls this part of the exhibition, "Beacon for revival in the mirror of art"
The upper part of the exhibition refers entirely to artists who qualified in the internment camps, who learned, were guided and created in their abundant free time, the various works, the fruit of past memories and experiences they had during their lives between war, escape, the refugee camp and upheavals.
Moshe was involved all his life in photography, sculpture and teaching the craft and art to others. He teaches art twice a week in Beit HaLochem to the disabled, once a week in Milv to the veterans, maintains a studio for his works and a gallery in Tzur Shalom. He has three children and six grandchildren and I can only wish him many more years of creative health and such initiatives of many new works of art for the various collections.
Moshe - Since I live in the house across from you, I am very impressed by the statues and the story behind each one of them, and most of all I want to thank you for the three harp statues made by your hands, which grace Giura Street in the Tsur-Shalom neighborhood of Kiryat Bialik, and interestingly, in the fourth square between them there is an olive tree !!!! As we learned in the various videos, it is the only type of wood that you do not sculpt "because as you say - it has a life of its own" and I really agree with this assumption, that you will have many more years of creation and display and contribution to the residents of Kiryat Bialik on the artists' sabbaths in which you host in your home to enjoy the uniqueness of the works - thanks