Mine Is My Copy by nimrod vardi from israel

In this project I examine the relationship between the mass manufactured and the hand made.
I focus on the Jewish ceremonial cup; the goblet which is used on the night of the Sabbath to sanctify time and space. I believe that industrial mass-production has alienated us from what is, in my eyes, true human production - production of an object which is unique and one-of-a-kind. Production which in advance involves the intention of the maker results in an object that plays a greater part in a particular ritual and therefore is instrumental in a ceremonial way.

By creating a series of new Kiddush goblets that each use the same mass-produced Kiddush cup as a base, recast and manipulated in different ways, I raise the following questions: Have we been distancing ourselves from a natural connection with religious rituals, such as the Kiddush, and transitively distancing ourselves from belief by distancing ourselves from personal production? Has the percolation of the fake also percolated into our customs and rituals? Has the emptiness of content, manifested in our objects, had an effect on the religious ceremonies in which these objects appear?

I believe that True human production — the True creation of an object which is unique and one-of-a-kind and involves the intention of the maker—is to create a ritual piece with the purpose.

This project was made as a Final project for Bezalel academy for art and design in Jerusalem, Israel, at the department of metal art and design.