The Nahmias Cipher Report

The story of how my life has been impacted directly by AIDS, and why it is important that we remember all of the children who are and have been orphaned by this terrible scourge.

Of course silence is an option, but is it moral? “From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married. Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come. When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound. So why call her bad? From her, kings are born. From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all.” ~ Guru Nanak, 15th Century Founder of Sikhism

“This invisibility—this erasure out of the complex history of our life and time—is the greatest source of my longing. As you know, I’m a woman who yearns, who longs for. This is the key to me and to the work, and something which is rarely discussed in reviews or essays, which I also find remarkably disappointing. That there are so few images of African-American women circulating in popular culture or in fine art is disturbing; the pathology behind it is dangerous. I mean, we got a sistah in the White House, and yet mediated culture excludes us, denies us, erases us. But in the face of refusal, I insist on making work that includes us as part of the greater whole. Black experience is not really the main point; rather, complex, dimensional, human experience and social inclusion—even in the shit, muck, and mire—is the real point.” — Carrie Mae Weems

“13 Months of Sunshine” is particularly accessible because it is written in English with some Amharic dialogue. Non-Amharic speaking audiences will be able to achieve rare insight into Ethiopian culture, while enjoying a well-written story that will speak to all immigrants. It is a subtle commentary on the West and in particular, America.

The expression of love between a man and a woman is one of the greatest acts of creation that we command. It is a moment that is sacred, magical, and transformational.