STATEMENT OF WORK

About my current project; "GRAND SCHOOL" - an ongoing painting series of fish that are all swimming in the same direction. Each fish is different and completely unique, all are individuals, swimming alone in their own world/canvas, towards an unknown destination. When hanged together, they become a school, a community and make their own space. These Fish are a great subject for me, they are abstract enough to give me creative freedom, and able me to experiment and play. We all have some kind of relationship with fish. They are our evolutionary ancestors, we use them as a food source, as decor and for pets.  They are a common symbol for many cultures throughout time. Yet above all, as I was once told by an old Holocaust survivor, "they make the ideal victim, they are the silent victim".

About my Swastika Series; I have been making works involving the swastika as the subject matter; an ancient positive symbol stolen and changed by evil forces 100 years ago. Slowly working with it more and more, I worked with it almost exclusively as a motif from 2019 to 2022. As an artist, I can't think of a more powerful, iconic, historic, conflicted, and forbidden abstract graphic symbol. Being an Israeli Jew, and having many family members murdered by the nazi machine, I can't ignore the blood the swastika is soaked in, and I can't forget the crimes it was a symbol for. That being said, the swastika itself is a victim, just like my ancestors. Just like them, it was taken, used, and abused. In a way, it's still "owned" by the nazis. Painting the swastika over and over in different configurations, always adding a smile. Trying to deal with the horror in it, turning it into an absurd image. To make it "child friendly" or rather "let the air out" of it. Using an aesthetic that's tasteless, weird, and quirky, to sedate the first reaction one has. To camouflage it in happiness.