Connection, dehumanization, the arts and Jewish identity: A visual relational Autoethnography

Abstract

Throughout centuries, art and images have helped individuals express what remains beyond words and verbal communication. This relational autoethnographic study uses the creative process of painting artistic images to dialogue with four chosen Holocaust survivor artists to explore the Transgenerational Transmission of Trauma theory, as a western Jewish millennial woman living during times of alt right wing resurgence in the Western hemisphere. The study uses painting, drawing and creative writing to explore layers of cultural experience of historical trauma through self-observation, while linking introspective content to wider social psychology theories.

Keywords: Autoethnography, image dialogue, creative process, contemporary Jewish identity, Transgenerational Transmission of Trauma, Holocaust artists