nowakteufelknyrim

With this exhibition, the Jewish Museum is offering an insight into the religious and cultural background of circumcision. The exhibition looks at circumcision from Jewish, Christian and Islamic perspectives. The roots of this ritual, Abraham’s covenant with God, are highlighted. The exhibition looks at the circumcision of Jesus as well as the role of the subject in contemporary American society. Anti-Semitic and Islamophobic attitudes are also addressed.

A vertical and horizontal ribbon forms a long axis through the central, elongated space of the exhibition. It serves as a base for the exhibition’s main exhibits. The unusual folds of the pedestal band play associatively with the contrasts of the exhibited contents. Along the walls, exponents are placed from the left and right, offering different perspectives. Right at the beginning of the exhibition, a wall-sized map of the world by the World Health Organisation (WHO) makes it clear without comment that in more than half of the countries on earth, including the USA, circumcision of boys is the prevailing social standard, often irrespective of religious beliefs.