Michal Sophia Tobiass, Axis , installation view, 2020, Dana Art Gallery, Kibbutz Yad Mordechai (photo: Tal Nisim)

Michal Sophia Tobiass is a multidisciplinary artist with a background in dance,

winner of the 2019 Young Artist Award from the Ministry of Culture. Her

artistic practice deals with the possibility of penetrating below the surface

to "see" what the eye no longer sees.

In her current exhibition at Dana Art Gallery, she builds five sculptures that

stretch from the floor as five fingers. These create a kind of circular structure

that can be entered from every direction, as well as an array of interior and

exterior gazes, which become more relevant than ever in this post-isolation

period. The five organic-shaped statues conjure up the mysterious Stonehenge

prehistoric monument, which consists of a circle of monumental stones, each

rises to about four meters. Various uses were attributed to this ancient stone

circle, but it was undoubtedly an ancient ritual or religious site that also referred

to the location of the celestial bodies, carrying with it many mythological and

ritual meanings that hover around Tobiass' sculptures as well. 

As part of the exhibition, 82-year-old Israeli dance queen Rina Schenfeld

was invited to perform a dance-performance in and around the unique

structures. Her dance and performance acts are documented in a video

work presented at the show, and a live performance took place on opening

night. Schenfeld was filmed as she works among the statues, around, and

within them, in a choreography inspired by the myth of the Orion and

Scorpius star systems.

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The exhibition was made possible by the support of Art Lane Fund.

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Full exhibition text by curator Ravit Harari (Hebrew)

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Interview with Michal Sofia Tobias, Portfolio Magazine, June 26, 2020 (Hebrew)