Never Say

Story Behind the Art

This piece is inspired by the Bielski brothers’ remarkable example of courage, Jewish resilience, and defiance in the face of Nazi rule.

Between 1942 and 1944, in Western Belorussia (Belarus), their partisan group became one of the most significant Jewish resistance efforts during World War II. After the Germans killed their parents and two brothers in the Nowogrodek ghetto in December 1941, the three surviving Bielski brothers, Tuvia, Asael and Zus fled to the forests.

What began as a fight for survival quickly became a mission to protect others.

They welcomed Jewish refugees from nearby ghettos, forming a mobile community, transforming the forest into a safe haven and a symbol of resilience, solidarity, and hope.

The title of the piece, Never Say, refers to the iconic Yiddish song Zog nit keyn mol (Never Say), written in 1943 by Hirsh Glik in the Vilna Ghetto. Known as “The Partisan Song,” it became the hymn of Jewish resistance, urging courage and defiance even in the face of annihilation: “Never say this is the final road for you.”

One of the verses is written in the woods. Visually, the painting tries to reflect this story. Dark greens and textured forest depths dominate the edges, representing the danger and darkness surrounding the partisans.

The figure on the left is Tuvia Bielski, the leader, while the three figures in the clearing embody Jewish partisans hiding, surviving and building a community.

A final figure, hidden among the trees, represents those who fought to protect them - man and nature side by side.

The strands of light emanating from the top, is meant to symbolism a greater good - something spiritual also at stake here protecting the people, the centre symbolises growth and resilience, life nurtured even in darkness.

Just as the song urges, hope endures: they never gave up.