Roey Victoria Heifetz The Coronation, 2024

The Coronation is a graphite and colored pastel drawing on paper, consisting of two large scrolls of paper that flow from the wall to the floor. The four figures, a woman in a large orange dress and her three male attendants, extend across both rolls of paper. The central female figure takes up most of the space of the work, whereas the male figures seem to cower and recede into the background with their eyes closed.

The central figure is a self-portrait of the artist, and the title refers to her personal story as a trans woman. With this work, Heifetz celebrates her emancipation and rebirth as a woman. The men in the background are part of this ceremony in which the central figure has the leading role and the guiding force. Although trained as a painter, she has deliberately chosen to work exclusively on paper, seeing it as the most honest material where mistakes cannot be undone. The repetitive and meditative act of drawing also humble her and relate to her own struggle for identity.

Heifetz’s central theme is the perception of women in society and the resulting imbalance of power between men and women. In this work, the tension created by the positioning of the male figures in the background and by their closed eyes signifies the artist’s own ambivalence. Even as she takes this triumphant step, she is still caught between vulnerability, shame, fear, and secrets from the past.