Haya Cohen is an arts practitioner that expresses and experiments with versatile mediums, including working with living art. After immigrating to Australia with her family, in 1997, she worked as a gemologist. Later, Haya added academic studies to her busy life. She completed her PhD in visual arts and cultural industries at Griffith University, Australia. As an arts practitioner, Haya’s main focus is on the continual processes of material thinking and thinking through materials and the relationships between body/self/environment. Her work draws from interdisciplinary areas focusing on intersections between philosophy, biology, cognitive science, anthropology and art. Haya has exhibited internationally and across Australia and published academic papers in interdisciplinary journals and books. Her teaching experience includes Griffith University and Queensland College of Art.
In recent years Haya experiments with printmaking. Her interest in exploring materials and connecting lines of thought are brought through her etchings, linocuts and much more.
ALCHEMY
“The alchemical opus deals in the main not just with chemical experiments as such, but with something resembling psychic processes expressed in pseudo chemical language.” [7]
Carl Jung, Psychology and Alchemy
This piece aims to accentuate the multidimensional processes of transformation engaged with and on the course of healing from cancer.
Alchemy is created with immense appreciation and respect to the people and families touched by Cancer. Through research I have found that in many chemotherapy compositions the substances are metals. These findings led to the utilisation of various metals including pure gold, pure silver, copper, gold plated and brass wires. My dear friend and teacher who had to depart from her hair when fighting cancer donated the hair. To think and to make this work and to write about it required immeasurable emotional involvement that goes beyond.
