“Motherhood” | Graphite Drawing | An intimate moment between a mother and child, capturing their tenderness and closeness. Subtle details of traditional Ethiopian clothing connect this everyday gesture to a broader cultural heritage.

Batya Sisay’s artwork explores identity, memory, heritage, and human connection through drawing and photography. Born in Ethiopia, raised in Israel, and now based in Brooklyn, Batya is drawn to the spaces where personal experience and cultural memory meet.

“Through these works, I seek to preserve moments that might otherwise pass unnoticed and to explore the connections between place, identity, memory, and belonging.”

Batya Sisay was born in Ethiopia under the name Banchamlak, which, according to her family, means “May God be with you” in Amharic. At just forty days old, she immigrated to Israel with her family as part of Operation Moses. She grew up in Israel, far from the land of her birth and the place where her family’s roots were planted, at a time when Ethiopian culture was largely absent from the public spaces around her.

For many years, Batya consciously distanced herself from her Ethiopian heritage in an effort to assimilate into Israeli society. At the age of thirty, she felt an inner calling to reconnect with her origins and visit her homeland. 

In 2013, Batya embarked on her first journey back to Ethiopia, returning to the place where she was born and where her family had lived for generations. It was her first encounter with a place that had always been part of her identity, yet had never been part of her own childhood memories.

Throughout the journey, Batya documented what captured her attention through the lens of her camera: landscapes, homes, courtyards, pathways, people, and moments of everyday life. When she returned to Israel, something within her sought expression, and her artwork has flourished ever since.

Through her art, Batya’s personal story unfolds: a woman returning to the land of her birth, searching for a connection to her roots, and through the people and places she encounters, creating a new memory of home.

Selected works from Batya Sisay’s aspiring solo exhibition, The Space Between

In her work, and by observing these environments, Batya invites us to imagine the people who inhabit them, the activities that unfold within them, and the stories they hold.

“My photographs from my time in Ethiopia document the people, landscapes, traditions, and everyday moments I encountered there. Many of these images later became starting points for my drawings.”  

Photographed in southern Ethiopia, this house is not my family’s home, yet it evokes a sense of roots, familiarity, and belonging.

“Working primarily in graphite, often with selective touches of color, I focus on people – their expressions, gestures, relationships, clothing, and quiet moments of everyday life. Through these works, I seek to preserve moments that might otherwise pass unnoticed and to explore the connections between place, identity, memory, and belonging.”

“Quiet Care” | Graphite Drawing | A tender moment between two children, as one helps the other take a drink. A simple gesture of care, affection, and responsibility shared between children themselves.

“My work does not seek to represent Ethiopia as a whole, but rather to reveal the country through the eyes of a woman who was born there, raised far away, and returned to encounter it for the first time as an adult.”

“Ima” | Graphite Drawing | A portrait of my mother wearing traditional Ethiopian clothing, with delicate embroidery and jewelry. The simplicity of the white fabric and the intricate details evoke a sense of elegance, cultural heritage, and the familiar image of Ethiopian mothers.

“I continue to ask myself, what makes a place a home? Is it the land, the structures, and the objects that shape it? Or is it the people, the memories, and the lives unfolding within it?”

In The Space Between, Batya further explores memory, identity, belonging, and the relationships between people and places. Batya hopes to find a space for the exhibition, where through her art we can experience where place meets presence, and memory finds a home.

Stay connected to Batya’s work on Instagram and join her at her upcoming events! @batya_sisay