Sheep have figured prominently in the work of Menashe Kadishman, once a shepherd on an Israeli kibbutz (collective community). Since he painted the backs of sheep converting them into a living palette at the 1978 Venice Biennale, they have evolved from a local, pastoral motif to a symbol reflecting the artist's search for identity and attachment to the land where flocks have grazed for centuries. Ultimately, these works voice Kadishman's concerns about political events and stem from personal experience such as the recruitment of his own son to the Israeli army. In the words of Israeli poet Natan Zach, Kadishman "went in search of sheep, only to find himself witnessing the Sacrifice of Isaac."