FILM
Below are some selected examples of Anita’s animation work.
Noch Am Leben (Still Alive)
Blue
My painting: Mr Goldberg.
Oil on canvass 122x90
This was my most emotional and important portrait to date.
Abe is a Holocaust survivor who survived Auschwitz-Birkenau after around 50 of his family members were murdered.
Abe is a beautiful man. At 99 he is entirely switched on and has a fire that burns passionately within him. He carries that flame and passes it on so we never forget.
On a personal note, Abe comes from the same town Łódź as my Grandfather Shmulek. They would have been the same age today. I asked Abe if maybe he remembers my grandfather but sadly he didn’t. This pointed out to me how large the communities in Poland were and once again highlights that which has been lost.
It was one of my greatest privileges to sit and draw him. To get to know him.
Thank you to his son Charlie for arranging it all, and to the @melbourneholocaustmuseum for facilitating the showing to Abe and his family.
“The only way we could go out was through the wires and those wires, barbed-wire, and those wires were guarded by the German Schutzpolizei. Those who guarded the ghetto very often they’d amuse themselves by taking off their rifle and making men, women or children moving targets.”
Available now
A children's book for adults and an adults' book for children, The Seven Palaces of Breath is a unique collaboration between a scholar of Kabbalah, Nathan Wolski, and award winning illustrator, Anita Lester.
Nathan Wolski's playful translation of Aaron Zeitlin's Yiddish mystical poem and Anita's psychedelic Chagall-like-Dali-esque illustrations bring Zeitlin's kabbalistic poem to life. A tale of wandering sages, flying wondrous beings, and adventures through celestial realms, The Seven Palaces of Breath is a journey through the mysteries of being.
Upcoming works
Farmacopeia - 2023
