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work, many spherical, create the feelingof inter-galactic travel. Yet says Berny,“The works I make are not facts aboutspace but my fantasies about it.”His works on exhibit at Omer articulate“how small one is within the great cosmos.Man, being so small, can not grasp theimmensity of the cosmos or the meaningof the vast distances in space.”Wertheimer says of Berny, who has livedon Kibbutz Yizre’el since making aliyain 1962, that “he immigrated to Israelfrom South Africa in order to implementZionism in the spirit of which he was educated.A man of labor, his explorationof themes is both profound and consistent.His exhibition here affords art loversin general and lovers of sculpture inparticular an opportunity to experiencehis most recent works, all addressing asingle theme – the cosmos.”Friend and fellow South African sculptorDavid Fine from Ma’ayan Baruch,went to the same school as Berny inJohannesburg “which we had leave becauseof our opposition to apartheid.”He describes the path leading to Berny’sstudio on the Kibbutz which is studdedwith forty years of Berny’s sculpture.“The sheer diversity and size of most ofthese pieces bear witness to the aboundingenergy and vitality which has become thetrademark of this tough bearded rugbyplayer artist.” The Jezreel valley whichforms the backdrop and background tothe sculptures “is an integral part of thisartist and his work.”It is easy to understand why Berny’sinitial intimacy with stone arose from achance encounter on the kibbutz. Whileworking in the field, his plough struck arock, whose form triggered an urge to“handle” it. He set about carving cavitieson both sides while avoiding breaking orfissuring it. He did so and stone becamehis favourite sculpting material.The writer, while walking through thegreen lawns of Yizre’el, came upon a majestic,stone ‘spherical’ sculpture of an elephant.The name Fink appeared clearly buton closer examination it was not Berny’swork but his son’s Omri. Stone, sphericaland shades of Africa - the artistic sagafrom father to son continues.Who wasNatalie Harziza’s 50 minutedocumentary ‘Lullaby’ hasbeen receiving rave reviews. Itpremiered recently at the TelAviv Cinematheque and hasbeen nominated for Best IsraeliFilm in the emerging categoryat the Israeli DocumentaryForum Awards for 2009. It hasalso been shown on ChannelTwo, a co-sponsor of the documentary.‘Lullaby’ relates thestory of “my two mothers” one of them Jewish South African - herbiological mother - and the other, “Rebecca, my African nanny.”Twenty-five-year oldmy realmother?Natalie says “Rebeccaraised me from the ageof two, until my familymade aliya when Iwas fourteen, elevenyears ago.”The movie probesthe nature of motherhoodin apartheidSouth Africa. Natalie’smother pursued a career,but could only doFilm Director Natalie HarzizaNatalie has a degree in Film and Artsfrom Sapir Academic College, Sderot andis studying for her MA at the HebrewUniversity, Jerusalem. She has taught filmmakingto different groups in SouthernIsrael - from Sderot high school studentsto inmates in the Beer Sheva Prison. Shehas represented Israel at the Clermont-Ferrand shor t film festival in Franceand has par ticipated in numerous filmworkshops in Russia and South Africa.continued on top ofnext page17Makes one Fink! •