Axis
Michal Sophia Tobiass
Solo show
Curator: Ravit Harari
Dana Art Gallery, Kibbutz Yad Mordechai
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.
The exhibition was made possible by the support of Art Lane Fund.
Full exhibition text by curator Ravit Harari (Hebrew)
Interview with Michal Sofia Tobias, Portfolio Magazine, June 26, 2020 (Hebrew)
איציק בדש, מלכות של פח, גלריה על הצוק, נתניה
איציק בדש, מלכות של פח, גלריה על הצוק, נתניה