From Bondi to the Tree of Life

Until recently, Joel Adler saw his art and his Judaism as largely separate. The artist and industrial designer is known for his large-scale outdoor sculptures – often bold, abstract works designed to reflect their natural surroundings. But one of his sculptures took on a very different meaning after the Bondi attack.

His Sunnukiah, Australia’s first solar-powered chanukiah, was installed two days before the attack, just three kilometres from Bondi Beach. In the aftermath, it was moved to Archer Park, where it became a memorial to the victims.

“The lights turned on automatically when the sun set on December 14, which is pretty much when the attack happened,” Adler says. “So, my work was flung into my Judaism in a way that I couldn’t have planned. And it made me really think about what it means to be an artist, what it means to be a Jew living in Australia.”

That realisation also prompted Adler to think more deeply about the role his work can play within the Jewish community. “It made me really consider my potential impact as an artist and what it means to create large monuments of Jewish identity and symbols of Judaism.”

The Sunnukiah’s story also caught the attention of the Jewish Museum of Australia, which approached him in January to create a new work. The resulting sculpture, It Is a Tree of Life, is this year’s Eva and Marc Besen Contemporary Artist Commission.