The checkered bag became a symbol of displacement many years ago. Since October 7th, about two hundred thousand residents of Israel were displaced from their homes, and the bag returned to both public and private spaces again. Many Israeli artists have addressed this bag in their works, some over the years and some specifically towards this exhibition, which seeks to examine its effects, the memories it harbors, and its role as an icon in Israeli art and staging.

I am excited to present at the exhibition, alongside wonderful creators from various fields, the work "Good Measures" which was created especially for the exhibition.

A tape measure is identified with high-quality, slow, and meticulous tailoring, customized to fit the wearer. The choice to weave in "tabby" (a traditional and labor-intensive technique) the structure, proportions, and colors associated with the migrant's bag—contrasts and emphasizes the nature of the original bag which is industrially and rapidly produced and its usage, characterized by a kind of flight and nomadism.

At the center of the exhibition, the focus is on the sweet lie, on sugar, on sweet talk, on sweets, on desserts. It is a response and consideration of the sweetness that emerges from every direction, tempting, dominating, conquering, and refusing to let go, and even when it seems to disappear for a moment, it returns in disguise. The works in the exhibition allow for a creative and original contemplation, a direct look into the lie, into the belly of the sugar-laden illusion, into the intricacies of the distorted deception, into the feeling of immediate pleasure, and the long-term damage.

The entire body of work was created for an art and food evening curated by Keren Bar-Gil, where culinary figures were invited to give their interpretation of art pieces, and designers were asked to express their interpretation of the food world.

For the "Desserts" project, I chose sandpaper that I collected from the carpentry workshop I worked with. The density of the material and the size of the sand grains are characteristics of the paper, and for me, they represent the nature of our taste buds, which are examined through touch. The choice was to create paper folds from sandpaper – which can be felt and "tasted" without containing a single harmful calorie. Beyond the sense of touch activated by the fingertips, the sandpaper has very distinct and non-saccharine, non-childish hues, creating a new palette for the eye and palate.

KUB

The iconic power station, Reading - located at the mouth of the Yarkon River, constitutes a milestone in the urban architecture of Tel Aviv-Yafo.

The choice to disassemble each of the structures that compose it and to invite the observer to reassemble it - and to give space to every side of the magnificent building, known primarily for its western facade, but is certainly significant from any viewpoint we observe it. In 1998, I had the opportunity to enter the impressive building, to discover the machines and boilers and especially to be impressed by the chessboard flooring, which I chose to bring into the "light" - and it serves as the base for the table on which the cubes that create the structure and through which the penetrating light passes are placed. The so identifiable flooring, also reflects and indeed multiplies the structures by being a mirror, the structures were left partly transparent and partly "sealed" with sandblasting, to express the constant desire to peek into the enclosed building - inside, and to discover its content.

The choice of the building's colors stems from the hours of sunset that recolor the stone structure anew every day - even as it stands unused in its original purpose.

The audience is invited to move the cubes and boxes on the light table, to create the original structure and to be, in a certain sense, an architect for a moment in building a different composition.

CURATOR: limor goldman yossifon

MINCER CHAIR

The NOLITA chair by PADRELLI is a new chapter in the "Radius Project" - a series dedicated to the artistic revival of materials in reuse, collected within a walking radius from my home and studio.

The first collection in this series, created from a variety of household leftovers - birthday party balloons, outdated films, and notebooks from different periods - that were shredded and compressed into sausage casings, turned these everyday items into a colorful collage, creating a sausage showcase in a story of color and memory.

The chair itself is a development of this idea. Its structural essence, the bones of the chair - its seat and backrest, are the basis for a broad and fleshy narrative for the sitter.

The seat and backrest - serve as the base for a new work. Denim remnants, carefully collected and selected for their unique shades, were repurposed for reuse. Cut into thin strips and compressed into a sausage net in the same process as the meat remnants, the sausage chains create a recycled, sensual upholstery, transforming the chair from a cold metal frame to a welcoming and warm place.

I chose to highlight the work process, to bring it to the forefront of the furniture. The exposed and handcrafted upholstery is not just a functional element but a visual dialogue on the value of slow and invested production.

This is essentially an invitation for observers not only to look but to engage and focus on the creation, to sit and experience the story woven within it.

HYPHEN

The installation "Hyphen" focuses on Eilat/Yafo Street, which connects Tel Aviv to Jaffa, showcasing the unique human and urban fabric of the area. In our view, this seam line between the two parts of the city is a rich and active microcosm: the long hyphen of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, which is also part of the historic axis of Jaffa–Shechem Road.

As creators and designers, our gaze is always turned to the hidden and mysterious parts of the city, to the small details that can be easily missed. The focus on this area – the boundary line between Neve Tzedek, Florentin, the American-German Colony, and the Noga compound – allows us to sharpen the contrast between the ancient tiny industry and the new towers, which represent both the urban industry and the luxury and the idleness of high-end life.

The work invites the viewer to surrender to a sensual and playful experience of the city. It is comprised of a series of dressers and cabinets, where the signs of time are evident, and they are placed side by side to imitate an urban landscape line. Inside all the drawers are hidden stories, sound works, and a variety of items that reflect the unique material and human character of the street, which is full of secrets and ancient wisdom of disappearing traditional crafts alongside simple everyday life.

"Radius Creatures" are a series of works created for the Design and Art Biennale at the Eretz Israel Museum. The series is actually the fourth part of the "Radius Project", a body of work created from the use of materials that I collected or found within a walking radius of the house and the studio.

At the time of the COVID-19, we were all defined a limited and identical radius. I created small objects that tell a story for me, I dipped them in many layers that blur the original outlines and unite the parts into a new body.

The works were delivered to the Biennale in January 2023 and when the exhibition opened, we were already in the middle of the protest - the works took on a new and different aspect from the time when they were created.