upcoming exhibition! Opening: 6. Feb. 2024 at the Barbur Gallery / Jerusalem
Revital Arbel is a surgeon, obstetrician, and artist. She performs pelvic reconstruction surgeries, repairs vulvar and vaginal tears and scarring, and creates new vaginas in Sexual reassignment surgeries. She also restores virginity as a life-saving procedure. She delivered hundreds of babies and mothers. She uses photography and embroidery to express her feelings and thoughts about her job and the injustice she observes in the hope of promoting a change. As a surgeon, Revital Arbel specializes in fusing, repairing and healing human ruptures. As an artist she has chosen to continue using needle and thread to generate intervention and repair.
“As an artist I use photography and embroidery to process and express my feelings and thoughts about the relationship between my profession and the world around me. I am in the process of creation. While I’m analyzing and while I’m an artist I’m engaged in creation, processes, thinking and turning ideas into action. Art is everything to me both when I am »working« (as a doctor) and when I am »creating« the two fields are parts of the same whole. There will be a correction for the injustices I encounter as part of my work as a doctor and as a woman. For me it is not a combination but the same »thing.«”
“My name is Revital Arbel and I am a gynecologist and a pelvic floor, vagina and vulva surgeon. I treat women of every kind imaginable, Israelis and Palestinians, secular and ultra-orthodox, women born in a female body and women born in a male body and men born in a female body and everything in between, women from here women from there, blue ID card, orange ID card, transit card, refugee card and those, well, statusless. After literally thorough research on the subject, I come out with an unsurprising statement, everything is the same, there is no difference, the same pain, the same blood, the same meat, the same milk, under the sky and maybe beyond the clouds they are all the same and need more or less the same things. Food and water!”
Sewing hands, brushstrokes, camera clicks, and handmade prints – these are the diverse techniques employed by the creators in this exhibition, members of the Faculty of Medicine. Nine artists have imprinted drearns woven in their private rooms onto paper and canvas, creating a world for themselves which now is revealed to us. With one click of the camera button, Aviv Halfen chooses to create compositions that, through computer processing, forge a newrealm; a realm in which the artist seeks to glimpse the child within, his family, and their embrace and understanding that he so needs. Avli Rubinstein’s brushstrokes are soft and thick, highlighting the human texture crecited by his figures. Azaria Rein paints in a classicstylethe heart’ssilhouette emerging through the light he casts on thesurface ofthe portrait, which looks back at us, the viewers. Michael Steinitz’s crayon and pastel hues invite us to lyrical and abstract landscapes of the land, where everyone can choose where they want tobe. The wonderful, hidden world teeming underthesurface ofthewater is revealed to our eyes through the camera lens and the eye of Nir Friedman. Daniel Z ilberscheid’s scienti fi c an d chemical realm allows him to shed new light on manual printing techniques. A colourful world is transformed into countless shades of black and white. In Assel Saadi’s still life paintings, the walls of her childhood home are rendered in oils – those very walls that became the canvas for her early artistic expressions. The flame in the painting embodies her internal driving passion. The entrancing gaze Eleanora Medvedev seeks in the eyes of th e women sh e photogr aphs is enveloped in soft fabrics and gentle light. Revital Arbel’s hand embroiders a woman, heals a wo man, heals h ersel f – g ivi ng agency to the aching, wounded body. Her journey between lndia and Israel is rendered as a colorful embroidered medical stamp. The lives above and below the surface coalesce into the artists’ personal expressions, an inward gaze outward and displayed in the exhibition.
Michal Mor, Curator, The Hebrew University
In this selection of artwork:s by members of the Faculty of Medicine, personal and poetic channels of expression, complementing the creators’ professional routines in the fields ofscience and medici ne, are presented for the first time. The tapestry of voices and artistic pieces inhabits the shared human and cultural space of the faculty community, attesting to its resilience and multifaceted nature. The realms of healing and creativity have always been closely and fruitfully intertwined -twoworlds in dialogue with each other. The exhibition of photographs of the diverse artworks, situated at the intersection of paths leading to the medical faculty buildings, seek:s to manifest these connections and encounters between physical healing, mental healing, healers, patients and the various roles within the medical professions. Our thanks tothe creators participating in the exhibition: Revital Arbel, Nir Friedman, Avrv Halfen, Eleonora Medvedev, Azaria Rein, Avery Rubinstein, Assel Saadi , Michael Steinitz, Daniel Zilbeisheid.
My heartfelt gratitude goes to everyone who helped in the realization ofthe project.
Anat Reches, initiator and producer of the exhibition, Faculty of Medicine
The AFTER FLOODING exhibition was inspired by the ecological crises and the corona epidemic that have plagued our world in recent years. A reality saturated with intense fluctuations, which provokes a rethinking of the interrelationships between the individual and the collective and between man and the environment and nature. The term “after the flood” refers to a continuous time dimension, linking the phenomenon of the flood itself, which is experienced in its full force, and the new situation, which exists after the flood. Floods in nature cause damage or substantial changes in their environment.
Emotional flooding is a response of our system to the existing load in it and it has consequences and influences about the way we think and act. The artists relate to the theme of the exhibition in different aspects and work in various types of media. Some even share an art project shared.
Avivit Blas Baranes and Reuven Zahavi present a joint painting installation, called “Tectonia”. Blas Baranes focuses on natural phenomena such as: sinkholes, tsunamis and landscapes that have collapse and chaos. Reuven Zahavi focuses on researching ignorance, changes and shocks that happen above and below natural ground surfaces, which were burned with traces of a fire, which broke out near the mental health center – Eitanim in the forests of Jerusalem. Aryeh Ofir deals with the concept of “interference”, the client from the world of physics. When two waves (water, sound, electromagnetic waves) smashing one against the other, a third wave is formed. In the jug works and his digital works, Ofir creates interferences between cultures, urban landscapes with nature and photographs of nature, as an integral part of Jars. Klil Wexler in her work “Remains”, presents an installation that includes: charcoal drawings and objects such as a coat, a sooty book and fossils soaked in polyester tar and latex. It refers to the oil spill, which contaminated the Ervat Evrona Reserve in the southern Negev, on the fourth of December 2014.
It was an ecological disaster, one of the most serious in Israel. Revital Arbel and Friedeman Derschmidt, artists and a couple in life, share a multimedia work called “Connected”. They reveal and document a video meeting, conversations, situations, thoughts and emotional outpourings, in their daily life since the time of the Corona epidemic until today. The physical distance between Vienna – Derschmidt’s place of residence and Jerusalem – Arbel’s place of residence and the ongoing time plays a significant and essential role in their video work.
Uzi Varon, a photography artist, who lives and works in Helsinki, refers in his panoramic work “Feel me, hear me”, 2021-2022 to the difficult feeling of loneliness, isolation and lack of contact that characterize the difficult days of quarantine during the Corona period. Veron presents a collage photographs consisting of two parts including portraits of forty subjects (family members and friends) taken in Renaissance style in his studio. Dana Melman Shaked in the work “They see us as we see them”, focuses on the study of the brain and the sensations, thoughts and emotions that flood the brain. She particularly refers to the connections between the parts of the brain as they are visually expressed in an MRI scan represented as a matrix. The autistic spectrum. Yonatan Eyal presents a floor work called “From the inside to the outside” in which a photographed image of a sewer cover appears and a caption refers to his criticism of social and moral censorship, which concerns the freedom of human rights and gender. Sima Liebster in “Remains” places objects made of porcelain, which cast their image on the wall using lighting fixtures. The objects are reminiscent of fragile fossils or crystals taken from the sea, a kind of remnants that herald about natural systems that began or a life that was interrupted. Paper artist Ziva Wagner Epstein presents objects made of hand-woven paper and linen threads called “Escape Path”, they seem to be evidence of extinct life forms. The paper artist Sefi Gal also refers to water flooding. She shows a paper relief called “Crack” and a temporary structure – “untitled”, partially torn, made of absorbent paper and adhesives, using the two-and-a-half method. Paper artist Alex Schneider presents a series of works called “The Weight of the Spirit”, made of different types of paper, acrylic paints and wood.
It marks the path of the wind, inspired by storms, ships and ships.
For the first time in Israel, a wide-ranging exhibition of male and female creators will be presented, each examining in his own unique language the connection of his art to the subjects of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. In addition, artworks dealing with disabilities related to the use of the senses will also be presented. The artists’ forum “Think Forward” was established about five years ago and includes artists with academic degrees, who come from a wide variety of fields, among others from the worlds of medicine, physics, biology, archeology, psychology, art, education and more. The project in Amiad brings together the men and women of the academy, the scientists and artists, and will include an exhibition of painting, sculpture, photography, installation, video art. Among other things, meetings of scientists and artists, guided tours of the exhibition, movement and music shows, films and open dialogue with the audience will be held as part of the exhibition. The producers of the project: The “Artists’ Museum” organization in cooperation with “Thinking Forward Forum” and in cooperation with the International Museum of Artists and the Segol School for Brain Research are producing a project that links art and the senses. Among the participants in the exhibition: Tamar Schhouri, Aden Hevroni, Avi Shaferber, Yehuda Roth who deal with the connection between art and smell. Daniel Landau who deals with virtual reality, Lior Zalmanson who writes art for new media, Avi Rosen who is connected to cyber art, Amos Blass who deals with material theory, Oded Ravei who deals with the N.I., Eben Belin from the world of psychiatry, Michel Efergan who develops pharmaceuticals, Omari Goren who writes fashion design for memory art, Shahar Davis creates a new animation, Michael Lazar connects land and sea to sensors and sounds, Michel Platnik deals with new body mutations, Elad Zada heals by touching objects, Nitsa Gnoser examines the powers of magical femininity and more.
International Women’s Day 2022 – fighting violence against women as part of the social work of Avraham Hostels and Tours, we asked our team what social, community or environmental issue they think is appropriate to promote during the year 2022. The topic “The status of women in Israel” was chosen by the majority of votes.
As a first step, we issued a call for creators to submit a proposal for a poster on violence against women, which will be displayed on the front of the hostel building in Tel Aviv. Among dozens of exciting, personal and touching proposals, the work “There are silent plagues” by Livnat Yafet, architect, designer and illustrator from Mahod-Hasharon, was chosen. Livnat says: “In light of the current reality, I felt compelled to connect the issue of violence with the complex times in which we live. In the shadow of the plague, it sometimes feels as if the other “plagues” are being pushed aside, even though they are present, painful and claim more victims than ever before.”
We decided to combine all the other works into a poster exhibition, which will be another platform as part of the fight against violence against women. From the voice calling: While November 25 is designated as a day to mark the fight against violence against women, the reality of all the other days feels the opposite; Reports of cases of violence against women are a daily occurrence, an inseparable part of every news release or headline, and a routine experience during the life of every woman in Israel. physical, sexual, verbal or mental violence; Between spouses, in workplaces, between commanders and female soldiers, between celebrities and lesser knowns; Violence against Jewish women, against Arab women, against immigrants, against heterosexuals, against gays, against transgender women, against secularists, against ultra-orthodox women, against young or old women. The problem of violence against women is a phenomenon that crosses social classes, cultural circles, religious or geographic affiliation, age or cultural background. With the aim of increasing our activities to eradicate the phenomenon of violence against women and in the pursuit of gender equality, Avraham Hostels and Tours appealed to creators to submit a proposal for a poster on the topic of violence against women, to be displayed on the front of the hostel building in Tel Aviv. More about the Avraham poster project: On the front of the “Abraham Hostel” in Tel Aviv is a huge period poster, which has become the symbol of the organization.
The poster, measuring approximately 10 x 15 meters, is replaced every few months with the aim of utilizing the unique and central location as a stage for art with various community and social aspects, with a distinct emphasis on the values of tolerance, equality and freedom of creation and expression. The posters are created out of collaborations between Avraham and local artists and designers, and express a common point of view for the creative artists and the network regarding what is happening in Israel. Especially for the opening night of the exhibition, we will host the performance show “Chapel of Joy” by the artist Hadar Alfasi. The show will take place in the small gallery at 20:00. The entrance is free. About the show: Makfelat Simcha – between Hasidic music and origami Origami, the art of paper folding that originates in distant Japan, requires concentration, precision and a degree of obsession. So is prayer. In a show that consists of movement pieces, singing a melody and origami, the artist seeks to trace the course of her life and that of women wherever they are. In search of precision, beauty and predetermined order of actions required of a religious woman, sometimes even at the cost of her life. Hadar Alfasi is a multidisciplinary artist from Jerusalem. Graduated from the acting school ‘Beit Zvi’. Owner of the origami brand Origamli. Photographer, songwriter and performer. Avraham Tel Aviv The Gallery in Avraham (1st floor)
Nava Harel-Shoshani – HEROINES WITHOUT CROWNS curated by Rina Gnosov Maria Arendt – INSIDE OUT curated by Naomi Gordon-Chen Revital Arbel – DEFLORATION curated by Ray Sommer-Tal
Revital Arbel is an artist as well as a gynecologist. As an artist she works primarily by combining photography and embroidery. As a doctor she specializes in gender reassignment surgery (sex change operations), surgery to restore virginity and pelvic floor recovery following childbirth – sensitive issues that inundate her artistic creations as well.
In the exhibition, adapted to the library space, the artist displays “Tapestries” that were created by hand embossed medical seals once used to signify the location of pathological findings and by embroidery on photographs taken by the artist. The series of photographs also depicts processes and images from the world of medicine: a placenta, a fetus in the womb, and a belly showing a surgical scar concealed by a tattoo. These photographs are difficult to view, and the artist has used embroidery to embellish them by adding capillaries, emphasizing internal organs, and attempting to intervene in medical procedures. An exception can be seen in the work Defloration, at the center of which are flowers photographed by the artist during a family trip to Portugal. Nevertheless, the word “defloration” usually refers to the act of depriving a woman of her virginity by rupturing the hymen through sexual intercourse. A close look reveals that the pastoral photographs of flowers is actually a collage in which some of the flowers are actually photographs of hymens that have been surgically restored. Embroidered flowers are interspersed with the bare embroidered hymens.
Revital Arbel has also built a special installation for the library space. In which she uses sterile sheet and gown from the operating room and attaches embroidered photographs to them. The installation represents an artistic atempt to introduce the spirit of the operating room into the library museum space.
As a surgeon, Revital Arbel specializes in fusing, repairing and healing human ruptures. As an artist she has chosen to continue using needle and thread to generate intervention and repair.
