PESACH PUNK

Meet Pesach Punk, my newest costume / character project. She's my wearable interpretation of Passover's Angel of Death, inspired by the aesthetics, attitude, and sound of early London punk. My version of this divine figure, traditionally associated with murder and loss, is a rebellious, feminist, passionately anti-Zionist leftist activist. Angry, righteous, and determined, Pesach Punk is pained by many of the broader Jewish community’s actions and beliefs, as well as her outsider status.

Click below to watch Die(ayenu), a 2-minute punk music video inspired by the classic Passover tune Dayenu, starring Pesach Punk:

The Angel of Death, in the Passover story, visits the homes of non-Jews in Egypt and slaughters each household’s firstborn son, as one of God’s ten plagues designed to punish the Pharoah for keeping his Jewish population as slaves. In imagining my version of the Angel, I thought of the horror of her having to complete this brutal, bloody, cruel task, and the rage she must have felt being assigned such a dreadful job. The punk movement, with its inherent rebelliousness and anger, felt like the only right option for this character.

it took me nearly a year to construct the headpiece, make dozens of punk paper flowers, design the full look, and adorn the jacket and pants with hundreds of spikes and studs, each one attached by hand. Note the matzo print fabric on both the crown and pants, and the custom designed t-shirt. The choice of green for the mohawk references both the traditional color of that punk style, and Passover’s marking of the beginnings of spring.

All portraits photographed by Emily Teague, with makeup by Alicia D’Angelo. T-shirt Graphic design by Jenna Koen.