Chinese Whispers
Koresh 14 Gallery, Jerusalem, July 2016
opening 28.7.2016 at 20:00

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Chinese Whispers‭ ‬incorporates four solo exhibitions‭, ‬inspired by the well-known children’s game‭, ‬Broken Telephone‭.‬

 

Just like in the game‭, ‬the exhibition’s progression is linear‭, ‬as the following four different artists display their work in the space of Koresh 14‭: ‬Vered Hadad‭, ‬Hili‭ ‬Greenfeld‭, ‬Avinoam Stranheim and Niv Cohen‭. ‬The transition from one solo exhibition to the next is a continual two-week process‭, ‬during which the incoming artist leads an artistic dialogue with the existing work in the space‭, ‬and gradually exchanges it for his own work‭, ‬until the space contains the new solo exhibition‭, ‬which will follow suit and eventually also be exchanged with the following artist’s work‭.‬

 

In the gallery space a wall will be designated for documentation of the exhibition‭, ‬such as photographs‭, ‬drawings and texts that‭ ‬will be added throughout the two weeks‭. ‬The documentation wall becomes an integral part of the process since it stores within it all of the daily activities and changes that are made in the space‭. ‬At the end of the exhibition a conversation will be held with the exhibition participants and a celebratory event in which a catalogue will be distributed‭, ‬portraying the process‭.‬

The continuous exchanging of work within the exhibition allows the viewers to return to the gallery at different points during the two weeks and experience the transitions‭.‬

 

Vered Hadad’s exhibition‭, ‬Deceptive Lights‭, ‬begins the project‭. ‬She will display her installation‭, ‬built from cotton strings and various recycled materials‭. ‬The different materials create a circular motion‭. ‬Only from close-up it ist clear that the statuesque object in‭ ‬her exhibition is made of toilet paper rolls‭. ‬The seemingly trivial material transcends its inferiority and receives a higher status‭, ‬gaining a sublime‭, ‬artistic effect‭. ‬Vered Hadad‭, ‬the founder of Koresh 14‭, ‬is displaying her work for the first time in the gallery‭, ‬after nine years of activity‭.‬

 

During the month of August Hili Greenfeld will enter the space and display the Persian Princess exhibition‭. ‬The exhibition name‭ ‬refers to a story about a mummy that was discovered in Pakistan in the year 2000‭. ‬Archaeologists claimed that the mummy was a Persian princess from the 6th century‭, ‬and her value on the black market was measured at around 11‭ ‬million dollars‭.  ‬After pathological tests‭, ‬it became apparent that the mummy was actually an anonymous woman in her twenties‭, ‬who was killed in the year 1996‭.‬‭ ‬Greenfeld picked up the signs and symbols used by the forgers‭, ‬such as engraved rosettes‭, ‬Cypress gold‭, ‬etc‭. ‬She painted the symbols on artificial grass‭, ‬and created a hybrid of lyrical abstract paintings‭, ‬Persian rugs and graffiti murals‭.‬

 

In September Avinoam Stranheim will gradually take over the space and erect Megalith as Greenfeld gradually vacates the space‭. ‬Megalith is an ancient monument‭, ‬and it is unclear how it arrived to its present resting place‭. ‬In this exhibition Avinoam will create large statuesque works‭, ‬which activate the gallery space and create elements of feelings that are almost physical for the‭ ‬viewer‭. ‬These feelings stem from power games‭, ‬scale and tension‭. ‬The statue structures function as energy generators and create‭ ‬attraction‭, ‬repulsion and pressure relations between the viewer and the space‭.‬

 

In October Niv Cohen will enter the space with Stranheim‭. ‬He will erect the Battle of Lima‭. ‬Cohen‭, ‬an autodidact‭, ‬collects the materials from the street in his studio’s neighborhood in South Tel Aviv‭. ‬Afterwards‭, ‬he adapts the materials with inspiration from surfing the web and watching extensive YouTube videos‭. ‬In his current project he will take inspiration from the three artists before him‭. ‬He intends to observe their work methods‭, ‬in regards to raw material and final product‭, ‬and then use this as the starting point for his creation‭.‬

 

This project is made possible thanks to the support of the Pais Foundation‭, ‬the Arts Department of the Jerusalem Municipality‭, ‬the Jerusalem Foundation‭, ‬the Ministry of Culture and the Koresh Association‭.‬