ART AND CULTURE

A tribute to fear, hope and man's connection to land

atar-sanjay-ahlawat Atar Geva with his installation 'Bubbling' | Sanjay Ahlawat

Art has power to tell stories and bring fresh perspectives on issues that impact the globe. It is this boundary-defying power of art that brings a group of Israeli artists and their works to India. To The End of Land, an exhibition featuring 19 contemporary Israeli artists, is an amalgamation of diverse voices on the country's identity, culture, conflicts and ecology.

Organised by National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, the exhibition marks 25 years of diplomatic ties between India and Israel. "We are trying to build a connection between India and Israel. Though people will find ecology and fear in some of the works, artists have also tried to show hope,” said Drorit Gur Arie, director and chief curator of the exhibition.

“It is about land as an image of identity and pain, described poetically. In Hebrew, land is called 'adama' and the first man according to the Bible was Adam. That's how it symbolises the connection between man and land. Simultaneously, we are also highlighting international issues like war and how despite turmoil, hope prevails."

It is this connect between man and land that inspired artists Atar Geva and Avital Geva whose art installations form part of the exhibition. Atar Geva's installation 'Bubbling' which comprises 200 tube-like structures filled with water, algae and air bubbles. The work is a tribute to spirulina—a micro-algae that is considered a superfood and a potential source of biofuel in the future. He chanced upon this discovery while assisting research students at the ecological greenhouse in Kibbutz Metzer in Israel. Despite being one of the oldest life forms on earth, people are unaware of its massive potential, and Atar took it upon himself to spread the knowledge in his own way.

Avital Geva, through his work, brings forth the magic of a rare bee community 'Bombus Terrestris' that performs natural pollination of plants grown in greenhouses.

"This is a live video that is being broadcast from Israel. In this work, I have tried to explain the story of life and ecology. This community of bees replaces their queen after every six months because they don't let a creature dominate. The sole purpose of their beehive is to fertilise other flowers," Avital said.

Hope during turbulent times comes alive in a video artwork of Tel Aviv artist, Shahar Marcus. In his work, Seeds, Marcus talks about the hope of life that surfaces even the midst of death.

"This work is special. A few months ago, in a newspaper report, I read that Israeli army was removing the mines from the area and planting tomato seeds instead. So, that's how the idea transformed into video art. I went there (the area that is four kilometres to the border of Jordan) and found real mines, ploughed them out and instead sowed seeds," he said.

To The End of Land, organised in collaboration with the embassy of Israel and Petach Tikva Museum of Art, Israel, will be open to public throughout May.