Exhibitions

The works in the show reflect a conceptual connection between glitter and seduction, superficiality and fragility, while also representing the "want of matter" in Israeli art. Familiar classical motifs are presented as victims of Western consumer culture, which turns every cultural element – even sacred icons – into an object manufactured on a uniform production line. The different means of representation reflect a critical engagement with the world of obsessive consumption that has swept up Israeli society in general, and the field of art in particular.

The exhibition seeks to reflect the complexity involved in the symbolic value of the automotive world and the clash between the different spheres. Some of the works emphasize the use of the automobile in mapping out gender roles. These works challenge familiar cliches from the world of advertising, which tend to depict cars as objects similar to women – compliant and submissive. The works highlight the transformation of the automobile into a fantasy.

This exhibition focuses on the responses of contemporary artists to issues of religion and faith in the contemporary global reality, which is dominated by the consumer culture.

In the fashion arena, consumerism is most explicitly demonstrated as an accepted lifestyle. The contemporary fashion industry seems to be constantly reinventing itself, thereby perpetuating its systemic dependence on the desire to acquire items in different styles. This industry reflects the inherent traits of modern society, characterized by constant flux and the search for meaning in an unstable reality.

The bicycles around which this installation is built are associated with the inspiration Olaf Kuhnemann draws from the streets of Berlin – the city he is residing in recent years. As the seasons change, with winter's depression replaced by the mania of spring and summer, the city's boulevards fill with bicycles.

In her works, Addie Wagenknecht addresses the ethos of the hacker culture and the dark side of the data systems that construct contemporary reality. In the installation Shrine for iPhones (2018) the artist creates a kind of monument to outdated mobile phones that are discarded after each technological update.

Hannan Abu-Hussein's installation consists of used brassieres fixed in cast concrete. This technique is characteristic of her works, which often use unconventional raw materials. The artist employs these materials in order to express her personal-feminist voice on the issues of religion, capitalism, sexual exploitation, love, and personal freedom.

Eyal Assulin's visual language explores the culture of prosperity with reference to global socio-economic aspects. His works engage with Eastern culture, featuring a matrix of historical, gender, and artistic status symbols. These are presented in a forthright manner that parodies the bulimic impulse of contemporary consumerism.

The desire for objects, the passion for "shopping," is translated today into a popular pastime. Indeed, a large part of happy humanity solemnly attends the rituals of consumption, equipped with credit cards. Its goal is to find meaning and discover a new identity: "I consume, therefore I am"; I am inseparable from a large group of happy beings – consumers of merchandise and opportunities.

In prehistoric times, human beings and animals roamed the Earth as equals. Like the animals, human beings were subject to the forces of nature, adapting to far-reaching climate change, wandering in search of water and food, hunting and being hunted.