Miriam Stern

Ezrat Nashim. Ezrat Nashim is the Hebrew term for the section in Orthodox synagogues designated for women. Channeling a young girl’s enchantment with paper dolls, Stern cut life-sized silhouettes of female friends out of di-bond panels and covered one side with photographic images of the partitions (mechizot) that separated the men from the women. The other sides were hand-painted with symbolic portraits of each woman. When installed, the silhouettes were arranged in the corner of a dimly lit room and a quiet soundtrack of women’s voices whispered Hallel—the prayer that is recited on holidays and in the morning of each new month.