A few lines inscribed on a small square
of alabaster suggest a sinuous human profile, an angular
face with two asymmetrical eyes and a mouth reduced to their
formal essence. There is no color apart from gold dust irregularly
sprinkled over the upper part of the surface, which makes
the object still more precious while radicalizing the two-dimensional
nature of the signs. Even though it disobeys the iconoclastic
imperative banning images as a deterrent to idolatry, Marisa
Merz’s panel is, however, perfectly at home in the
synagogue. On the one hand, it looks like a precious archeological
artifact discovered during excavation and placed provisionally,
while awaiting permanent installation, against a wall of
ancient brick, with which it contrasts in terms of color,
thickness and transparency. On the other, and above all,
the handful of signs and the sprinkling of gold dust attest
to the impossibility of the image, at least in its finished
and irrevocable form.