Veggie, Yael Friedman; Solskin Peels, Ori Sonnenschein
Bezalel Academy for Art and Design, Jerusalem, presents Thinking Hands, 45 works from 37 BA and MA students that explore the thought process between the hand and the brain – thinking by doing, as opposed to the traditional planning on paper or screen in advance of any physical ‘doing.’
Thinking Hands is divided into four different ‘hands – Exposing, Unifying, Enchanting and Mischievious. The Enchanting Hand, for example, is described as ‘driven by a conscious search for the local, accessible and responsibly useable. It exposes resources – new quarries hidden in available remnants: old bags become skin, and fruit peels become pottery.’ Here we see how Solskin Peels by Ori Sonnenschein uses experimental microwave technology to turn citrus fruit peel into tableware, plates, cups and bowls, while garden vegetables are turned into jewellery in Yael Friedman’s project Veggie.
Vision of Dry Boards, Tlalit Segal Raayoni; Foot Prints, Galit Begas
Another aspect of the projects is the turning of industrial materials and ready made objects into seemingly hand-crafted products, such as Tlalit Segal Raayoni’s Vision of Dry Boards, where industrial wood boards are shaped into organic forms or Foot Prints by Galit Begas, an experimental industrial process for manufacturing shoes from plastic bags.
RAWtation, Zaffran Weisler; Pearless, Tal Frenkel Alroy
Tal Frenkel Alroy tackles the classic status symbol the pearl necklace in the project Pearless in which pearls are almost hidden by leather and embroidery thread.
Mixing industrial and natural raw materials together is the theme of RAWtation by Zaffran Weisler, a table created through using Polypropylene rotation moulding as the top and wooden branches as the legs.
Muzoo, Noa Himelfarb; Lightstone, Ori Yekutiel
Staying with the theme of blending the natural and industrial, Ori Yekutiel’s Lightstone combines stone with foam for a patent-pending experimental technology. A more easily seen mix of the two can be seen in Muzoo by Noa Himelfarb in which Polypropylene and plastic structures are used for a DIY doll kit that allows the user to make mud moulds from red soil and sand.
Between Emotional and Analytical, Ronit Landsman; Furniture Hospital, Noam Tabenkin
The Unifying Hand ‘was born from the critical observation of what humanity has created through its continual striving for beauty, enormity, newness, and perfection… a hand that is a patient creator; a healing, loving hand with compassion towards man and object.’ In this group we have Noam Tabenkin’s Furniture Hospital, where damaged furniture is healed and re-animated and Ronit Landsman’s film Between Emotional and Analytical that creates a shared visual database of subjective pregnancy emotions.
Thinking Hands is curated by Professor Ezri Tarazi head of the Master of Design programme, Haim Parnas, Ilanit Kabesa and Liora Rosin and the exhibition is designed by Ami Drach, Liora Rosin and Nitsan Debbi. “The philosophical background of the theme of the exhibition Thinking Hands comes from the new integration and combination possibilities in design today, enabled by the post-industrial radical change,” says Professor Ezri Tarazi.
Thinking Hands by Bezalel Academy for Art and Design takes place at Ventura Lambrate, Via Massimiano 6 from April 12-17 2011.
