This work begins with Euphorbia milii, a plant that carries the historical weight of its common name: the Crown of Thorns. As the primary botanical reference for the most iconic crown in Western art history, this succulent shrub serves as the foundation for an exploration into the shared Jewish roots of a narrative that has shaped centuries of art. A faint face adorned with a thorny crown seeps through from an unseen front, creating a spectral presence reminiscent of the Shroud of Turin. While this figure is traditionally identified by the Latin acronym I.N.R.I. in Western iconography, the text appears here on the raw, reverse side of the canvas in its original Hebrew:
Yeshua HaNotzri Melech HaYehudim.
יֵשׁוּעַ הַנָּצְרִי מֶלֶךְ הַיְּהוּדִים
Seen backwards as it bleeds through the fabric (םיִדוּהְיַה ךְֶלֶמ יִרְצָּנַה עַוּשֵׁי), the inversion emphasizes a "backside" perspective on both the canvas and the narrative’s backstory. These Jewish origins often remain hidden; here they are facing the wall, yet they leave a permanent imprint on the surface of the canvas. Behind a torn section of the painting, a physical plaque bearing the familiar Latin Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum is nailed directly to the internal structure. These layers of language, botany, and structural support converge to transform a botanical study into an investigation of history and material memory, all growing from a humble plant defined by formidable spines and small, delicate flowers.
Mixed media on joined canvases
40 x 30 x 1.5 inches
