Objects to protect against the “evil eye” have existed since ancient times in different cultures and religions. These objects were used to protect from malevolent glares that were believed to draw misfortune. My childhood memories from wandering around our local flea-market in Jaffa are filled with glimpses of evil-eye glass ornaments in aquamarine and cobalt.
I designed a new wall piece to protect from the “evil eye” that is in dialogue with those iconic objects. A look inside the blown glass will reveal an endless tunnel, where nothing obstructs the gaze of the observer.
The “evil eye” wall piece does not simply signify a belief in evil. Rather, it signifies the belief in things hidden from physical perception. An evil eye object gives substance to the things that are perhaps too subtle for the human eye to register. The supremacy of the scientific discourse in the modern world has pushed aside and reduced this entire aspect of culture into a superstition.
According to Miriam Blich, a researcher in kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), reality is a mirror to ourselves and evil eye is an outcome of the way we see the world. In times when we forget to look within and are constantly provoked by social media to see and react to what is outside, this wall piece offers a place to look into one’s self and be reminded of the power of the inner gaze.
