Making up the news: One artist’s mission to depict the Hamas fire kites
search

The latest Jewish News

Read this week’s digital edition

Click Here

Making up the news: One artist’s mission to depict the Hamas fire kites

Artist Michal Henig presents stories about Israel through the power of make-up, not words

Francine Wolfisz is the Features Editor for Jewish News.

  • Michal Henig has used face paint to show Israel before and after the fire kite attacks by Hamas terrorists. Credit: Lilach Uzan
    Michal Henig has used face paint to show Israel before and after the fire kite attacks by Hamas terrorists. Credit: Lilach Uzan
  • Michal Henig has used face paint to show Israel before and after the fire kite attacks by Hamas terrorists. Credit: Lilach Uzan
    Michal Henig has used face paint to show Israel before and after the fire kite attacks by Hamas terrorists. Credit: Lilach Uzan
  • Michal Henig has used face paint to show Israel before and after the fire kite attacks by Hamas terrorists. Credit: Lilach Uzan
    Michal Henig has used face paint to show Israel before and after the fire kite attacks by Hamas terrorists. Credit: Lilach Uzan
  • Another of Michal's works shows the burning of the Temple, in commemoration of Tisha B'Av
    Another of Michal's works shows the burning of the Temple, in commemoration of Tisha B'Av
  • Message of love: A model is painted with the Hebrew words to 'love thy neighbour as thyself'
    Message of love: A model is painted with the Hebrew words to 'love thy neighbour as thyself'

One ingenious make-up artist from Israel has certainly put a whole new spin on the day’s “headlines”.

Michal Henig and her publicist, Lubika Karchova, collaborated together to create a new way of delivering the news through intricate, thought-proving images of world events painted onto a model’s face.

The 42-year-old artist said she was compelled to do something to address the “fake news and misinformation” spread about Israel, after a recent visit to New Zealand left her feeling “people don’t know anything about what is going on here”.

She added: “The world’s news only shows the Palestinian side of the story and denies the Israeli side. It was really important to us that we raise awareness worldwide about the truth of what is happening.”

Together, Henig and Karchova set up Lubika News and came up with the concept of providing stories not with words, but with powerful images created in make-up.

“Since a picture equals a thousand words, we felt people might relate to it more than the regular news.”

For her inaugural news story, Henig has literally painted a sombre comparison of Israel before the Hamas arson kite attacks and their devastating effect on the country afterwards, using her daughter, Lihi, as the model.

She explained: “While I was thinking of my first idea for a story, the land in southern Israel was torched by thousands of Hamas arson kites over three months.

“The crops destroyed could have fed thousands of people and the damage has been devastating to the farmers and residents of southern Israel.

“The fires also killed wild animals in their natural habitats and destroyed nature reserves.”

In recent months, hundreds of incendiary kites have been flown over the border from Gaza on a near daily basis by Hamas terrorists, causing damage to more than 7,000 acres of land and millions of shekels-worth of damage.

Support your Jewish community. Support your Jewish News

Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.

For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.

Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.

You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.

100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...

Engaging

Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.

Celebrating

There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.

Pioneering

In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.

Campaigning

Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.

Easy access

In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.

Voice of our community to wider society

The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.

We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.

read more: