Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, is a Jewish holiday that honors the memory of the six million Jews and others who were murdered in the Holocaust. Through this exhibition, artist Jake Rosen remembers his father and mother, who both were survivors of the Holocaust.

Rosen tells both of their stories through narrative self-portraits: one depicting his father Abe’s story, and the other telling his his mother Bronia’s story. Their lives were shattered and their communities destroyed; but through memories, photographs and personal research, he provides the viewer with glimpses of their lives during and after the war.

Many Jewish Americans today, including Rosen, live with the legacy of being raised by parents or relatives who were survivors of the Holocaust. This inexplicable tragedy has become a primary identity marker for the next generation, which bears the responsibility of Zikaron – testifying to the reality and severity of the atrocities. Rather than trying to answer the question of “why,” Rosen bears witness to this terrible time in history while suggesting a hidden thread of hope woven through the story of his parents’ survival. In the artist’s own words, "Without God's presence permeating and bringing an end to that darkness there would have been no hope."

What hidden threads of hope can be found in the midst of tragedy?