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In 2019, Archibald prize-winning artist Wendy Sharpe visited Kamianets-Podilskyi with her cousin Ruth Fishman to learn more about their family history. An organisation specialising in Eastern European Jewish family research organised guides for Wendy and Ruth in the Ukraine and provided documents shedding light on where the family had lived and what their lives might have been like.

During the trip, Wendy made sketches, drawings and paintings in notebooks, reference materials which she would later transform into a continuous mural at the Sydney Jewish Museum.

In 2019, Archibald prize-winning artist Wendy Sharpe visited Kamianets-Podilskyi with her cousin Ruth Fishman to learn more about their family history. An organisation specialising in Eastern European Jewish family research organised guides for Wendy and Ruth in the Ukraine and provided documents shedding light on where the family had lived and what their lives might have been like.

During the trip, Wendy made sketches, drawings and paintings in notebooks, reference materials which she would later transform into a continuous mural at the Sydney Jewish Museum.

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40 metres of empty wall space

In July 2021, Wendy set about painting 40 metres of empty wall space with a mural of memories from her journey to Kamianets-Podilskyi, and what she learned about her family history. The artist says, “A mural is a great cinematographic way of telling a story, where one scene merges or leads into the next.

40 metres of empty wall space

In July 2021, Wendy set about painting 40 metres of empty wall space with a mural of memories from her journey to Kamianets-Podilskyi, and what she learned about her family history. The artist says, “A mural is a great cinematographic way of telling a story, where one scene merges or leads into the next.

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Ancestry

Wendy is the only child of British parents who settled in Sydney in the 1950s. Her mother, Marjorie, wasn’t Jewish, but her father, writer and historian Alan Sharpe was of Russian Jewish heritage. His parents were Ben and Bessie Cohen (née Fishman). Ben died, leaving Bessie a widow with two young sons. She eventually married Dave Shapavitch (Sharpe). In the early 1900s, Bessie’s relatives escaped pogroms, fleeing Kamianets-Podilskyi, then part of Russia, now Ukraine, settling in London as refugees.

My ancestors’ escape from their homeland is just one of many thousands of similar stories of chance survival or planned migration. No words can describe their bravery in the face of intense antisemitism.” – Ruth Fishman (cousin)

Ancestry

Wendy is the only child of British parents who settled in Sydney in the 1950s. Her mother, Marjorie, wasn’t Jewish, but her father, writer and historian Alan Sharpe was of Russian Jewish heritage. His parents were Ben and Bessie Cohen (née Fishman). Ben died, leaving Bessie a widow with two young sons. She eventually married Dave Shapavitch (Sharpe). In the early 1900s, Bessie’s relatives escaped pogroms, fleeing Kamianets-Podilskyi, then part of Russia, now Ukraine, settling in London as refugees.

My ancestors’ escape from their homeland is just one of many thousands of similar stories of chance survival or planned migration. No words can describe their bravery in the face of intense antisemitism.” – Ruth Fishman (cousin)

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Dark History

Kamianets-Podilskyi has a dark history, extending beyond the early 20th century pogroms. The town was the site of the August 1941 massacre where the Nazis murdered 23,000 Jews on the outskirts of the city.

Dark History

Kamianets-Podilskyi has a dark history, extending beyond the early 20th century pogroms. The town was the site of the August 1941 massacre where the Nazis murdered 23,000 Jews on the outskirts of the city.

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Inspiration

The artist discovered that her grandmother used to sing a song in Yiddish and Russian – Vu iz dos Gesele (Where is the Little Street)? The song became her connection to her grandmother, though she never met her. The lyrics capture the loss and longing so central to the Jewish experience, yet it also resonates with many displaced people.

Inspiration

The artist discovered that her grandmother used to sing a song in Yiddish and Russian – Vu iz dos Gesele (Where is the Little Street)? The song became her connection to her grandmother, though she never met her. The lyrics capture the loss and longing so central to the Jewish experience, yet it also resonates with many displaced people.

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Lyrics of Vu iz dos Gesele (Where is the Little Street)?

Where is the little street?
Where is the house?
Where is the maiden whom I love?
Here is the little street
Here is the house
Here is the maiden whom I love.
Where is the brook?
Where is the mill?
Where is the village?
Where is the Synagogue?
Here is the brook
Here is the mill
Here is the village
Here is the Synagogue.
Once inside the house my pain is great,
All that now remains is a dream.
No more little street
No more house
No more maiden whom I love.

Lyrics of Vu iz dos Gesele (Where is the Little Street)?

Where is the little street?
Where is the house?
Where is the maiden whom I love?
Here is the little street
Here is the house
Here is the maiden whom I love.
Where is the brook?
Where is the mill?
Where is the village?
Where is the Synagogue?
Here is the brook
Here is the mill
Here is the village
Here is the Synagogue.
Once inside the house my pain is great,
All that now remains is a dream.
No more little street
No more house
No more maiden whom I love.

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All that is left is a memory

The ephemeral nature of wall paintings references places and a time that no longer exist – as does the folksong and title of the exhibition, Vu iz dos Gesele (Where is the Little Street)?

Yet as soon as the walls were ready for the charcoal and paint, Sydney was cast into a sudden lockdown which prevented the public from being able to view the mural. The mural was always destined to be painted over but it was always intended to be seen. At the end of August 2021, the mural was painted over, unseen by the public in person. All that is left is a memory.

All that is left is a memory

The ephemeral nature of wall paintings references places and a time that no longer exist – as does the folksong and title of the exhibition, Vu iz dos Gesele (Where is the Little Street)?

Yet as soon as the walls were ready for the charcoal and paint, Sydney was cast into a sudden lockdown which prevented the public from being able to view the mural. The mural was always destined to be painted over but it was always intended to be seen. At the end of August 2021, the mural was painted over, unseen by the public in person. All that is left is a memory.

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The Making of the Mural

The Making of the Mural

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I’m drawing, sketching and painting. I’m trying to use every kind of language, such as realism, expressionism, symbolism. I’m using vibrant fluorescent colours and soft, muted washes of paint; some aspects are from my imagination; others relate to something specific.” – Wendy Sharpe

I’m drawing, sketching and painting. I’m trying to use every kind of language, such as realism, expressionism, symbolism. I’m using vibrant fluorescent colours and soft, muted washes of paint; some aspects are from my imagination; others relate to something specific.” – Wendy Sharpe

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Wendy’s Grandmother, Bessie Cohen

This is my grandmother Bessie whom I’ve never met. I’m painting her with a wistful expression, as in her photograph. I feel a strong emotion painting my grandmother. She died in her 50s in the 1950s. If I could go back in time, I would love to meet her.

Wendy’s Grandmother, Bessie Cohen

This is my grandmother Bessie whom I’ve never met. I’m painting her with a wistful expression, as in her photograph. I feel a strong emotion painting my grandmother. She died in her 50s in the 1950s. If I could go back in time, I would love to meet her.

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Vignette:
Painting My Grandmother

Vignette:
Painting My Grandmother

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When I visited the cemetery in London’s East End, I found a few stones on my grandmother’s tombstone. I wonder if my father had left them there the last time he went to pay his respects, as a sign that he had been there?

When I visited the cemetery in London’s East End, I found a few stones on my grandmother’s tombstone. I wonder if my father had left them there the last time he went to pay his respects, as a sign that he had been there?

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Vignette:
Ukrainian Cemetery

I’m contrasting the neat, well-looked after East End cemetery in London with the overgrown, dilapidated cemetery in Ukraine.

Vignette:
Ukrainian Cemetery

I’m contrasting the neat, well-looked after East End cemetery in London with the overgrown, dilapidated cemetery in Ukraine.

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Family Photograph

Wendy’s grandmother, Bessie, is the little girl wearing white, standing in the centre.

Family Photograph

Wendy’s grandmother, Bessie, is the little girl wearing white, standing in the centre.

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Vignette:
Family Portrait

Vignette:
Family Portrait

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The Great Choral Synagogue, Kiev

The cousins flew to Kiev, exploring the unfamiliar and mysterious streets and discovering the Jewish history of the city. Wendy and Ruth had tea and cake in a café attached to the Brodsky Synagogue, also in Kiev.

The Great Choral Synagogue, Kiev

The cousins flew to Kiev, exploring the unfamiliar and mysterious streets and discovering the Jewish history of the city. Wendy and Ruth had tea and cake in a café attached to the Brodsky Synagogue, also in Kiev.

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We found a town which currently saw few outsiders and still seemed pretty unfriendly to Jews. We drank coffee in a café in Yampol, on the Dnister River, where the proprietor, on being told who we were, spat the word ‘Jewish’ contemptuously and told our guide there was a Cossack Museum nearby!”– Ruth Fishman

We found a town which currently saw few outsiders and still seemed pretty unfriendly to Jews. We drank coffee in a café in Yampol, on the Dnister River, where the proprietor, on being told who we were, spat the word ‘Jewish’ contemptuously and told our guide there was a Cossack Museum nearby!”– Ruth Fishman

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On a hillside above the river, Wendy and Ruth came upon a neglected Jewish burial site. There had been a Holocaust in Yampol too. It seems that although evidence of Jewish life is still to be found in archives, museums, often disguised Orthodox synagogues, in the streets, towns and cities, Ruth reflects:

There are only shadows and half-remembered stories of our ancestors who had lived, worked, worshipped and been part of the fabric of the country. We felt like ghosts there or the inheritors of a forgotten legend.

On a hillside above the river, Wendy and Ruth came upon a neglected Jewish burial site. There had been a Holocaust in Yampol too. It seems that although evidence of Jewish life is still to be found in archives, museums, often disguised Orthodox synagogues, in the streets, towns and cities, Ruth reflects:

There are only shadows and half-remembered stories of our ancestors who had lived, worked, worshipped and been part of the fabric of the country. We felt like ghosts there or the inheritors of a forgotten legend.

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Tourist Destination

Once in Kamianets-Podilskyi, Wendy and Ruth learned of the different nationalities that had lived there, the religions that had been practised, the occupying armies that had taken control throughout its history, and how Jews had been an integral part of the story. Kamianets-Podilskyi has grown into a tourist destination, allowing Jews to reconnect with their ancestral homeland.

A small Jewish community lives in the city today, however there’s little evidence of them.

Tourist Destination

Once in Kamianets-Podilskyi, Wendy and Ruth learned of the different nationalities that had lived there, the religions that had been practised, the occupying armies that had taken control throughout its history, and how Jews had been an integral part of the story. Kamianets-Podilskyi has grown into a tourist destination, allowing Jews to reconnect with their ancestral homeland.

A small Jewish community lives in the city today, however there’s little evidence of them.

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The World That Was

On 11 July 1941, as part of Operation Barbarossa, Kamianets-Podilskyi was occupied by German and Hungarian troops. A ghetto was established to incarcerate some 12,000 local Jews, 11,000 Hungarian Jews as well as other deportees from Czechoslovakia, Poland, Rumania, and Holland.

From 26-28 August 1941, members of the German Police Battalion 320, together with members of the staff company of the Higher SS and Police Leader Jeckeln of the Einsatzgruppe C, massacred 23,000 Jews on the outskirts of the city. They were aided by local Ukrainian auxiliary police.

The World That Was

On 11 July 1941, as part of Operation Barbarossa, Kamianets-Podilskyi was occupied by German and Hungarian troops. A ghetto was established to incarcerate some 12,000 local Jews, 11,000 Hungarian Jews as well as other deportees from Czechoslovakia, Poland, Rumania, and Holland.

From 26-28 August 1941, members of the German Police Battalion 320, together with members of the staff company of the Higher SS and Police Leader Jeckeln of the Einsatzgruppe C, massacred 23,000 Jews on the outskirts of the city. They were aided by local Ukrainian auxiliary police.

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“I dedicate this mural to my wonderful parents – author and historian Alan Sharpe, my lovely mother Marjorie, and all those who came before. I like to quote the Argentine poet Jorges Luis Borges, ‘I am all those who are no more.’ ” – Wendy Sharpe

 

Credits:

Historical information: Professor Konrad Kwiet and Dr Sophie Gelski

Curator: Roslyn Sugarman

Photographers: Jarrod Bryant and John Fotiadis

Music: Fay Sussman Klezmer Divas

Videos: Joshua Marks (shooter producer), Judy Menczel (co-producer), Karly Marks (editor)

“I dedicate this mural to my wonderful parents – author and historian Alan Sharpe, my lovely mother Marjorie, and all those who came before. I like to quote the Argentine poet Jorges Luis Borges, ‘I am all those who are no more.’ ” – Wendy Sharpe

 

Credits:

Historical information: Professor Konrad Kwiet and Dr Sophie Gelski

Curator: Roslyn Sugarman

Photographers: Jarrod Bryant and John Fotiadis

Music: Fay Sussman Klezmer Divas

Videos: Joshua Marks (shooter producer), Judy Menczel (co-producer), Karly Marks (editor)

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After months of planning and preparation, the mural was completed in seven days. It’s been an emotional journey for me, as my Jewish identity is very much a part of who I am.

After months of planning and preparation, the mural was completed in seven days. It’s been an emotional journey for me, as my Jewish identity is very much a part of who I am.