I See Darkness

The Bezalel Academy of Art and the Yaffo 23 Gallery presents "I See Darkness": A Showcase in the Dark.

Opening: Thursday January 27 at 8pm
Opening times: Tuesday to Thursday: 16:00-20:00
Friday: 11:00-14:00
Closing date: Friday 18 March 2011


Venue: Bezalel, 23 Jaffa Rd, Jerusalem, Post Office building, 3rd floor
(elevator access from 3 Koresh St.)
Telephone: 02-624 9367 Email: yaffo23jerusalem@gmail.com


The "I See Darkness" exhibition is the collection of five projects by artists whose work has reached a substantial level of maturity and depth. Most of the artists have had little exposure in Israel to date. This is the first time individual projects will be displayed at Yaffo 23, where only group projects have been featured so far.

The title of the exhibition, "I See Darkness", relates to the physical dimension in which the work will be displayed - in the dark. People will enter the space, which is normally lit, but has now been darkened, simulating a black box and allowing ideal display conditions for all five artists.

All of the artists asked for their work to be displayed in the dark. After they were officially selected and their requests accepted, the concept of a darkened exhibition space was born. This allows the changing of the perception of space and reality. The work displayed in the exhibit also deals with the transition to the dark, irrational, non-conceptual aspect of the sensory experience.

The Artists

Bat Sheva Ross, an Israeli artist who has resided in Rotterdam in recent years. She is a Bezalel graduate and holds a master's degree from the Rotterdam Academy of Art. In 2006, she was honored with the annual Givon award. Her work has been featured in the Givon Gallery, the Bianella in Herzliya and in exhibitions of group projects in Israel and abroad.

Doug Fishbon, an American artist who has been living in London for the past decade and has achieved growing success. His work, a full-length film, made and produced in Ghana, was recently featured in the Tate Britain. Like in his other films, he plays the lead role in this one - of a white leader in Ghana.

Noa Gur, an Israeli artist currently residing in Cologne, Germany, is a Bezalel graduate and holds a masters degree from the Cologne Media Academy. She is a Braverman Gallery artist and has had her work displayed at the gallery recently. She was honored with the prestigious DAAD scholarship.

Seskia Olda Wolvers, a Dutch artist living in London, has exhibited her work in prominent galleries and museums in Europe. A recipient of the prestigious Beck's Future Award, Olda-Wolvers' work will be shown in Israel for the first time.

Shay Azulai, a painter and Bezalel graduate. Winner of the Mozes Award for young artists, Azulai's work has been displayed in the Israel Museum, the Tel Aviv Museum, and featured in galleries across the world.

The Projects

Bat Sheva Ross, Creator's Manifesto, 2011: Her project combines sculpture and a showing of slides of paintings inspired by the book of Job. The display raises questions about the dynamic between imagery and text, as well as between the creator and the viewer, and also about the artist's responsibility.

Doug Fishbon, Hypno-Project, 2009: His latest film is currently shown in the Tate Britain, but will be screened at this exhibit. Known as his Hypno-Project, it is a two-screen video display studying response to stimulation of people who are under hypnosis. Fishbon hypnotized 12 viewers, some were conditioned using various suggestions in the project, and exhibited a variety of responses. When brought out of their hypnotized state, some did not remember anything about the project. The responses of the hypnotized viewers to the video project raise questions about manipulation and behavioral conditioning, as well as the issue of relativity in the understanding and perception of art. How natural are our responses? To what extent are we prone to respond in a specific manner? How easily can our response and perception be altered by forces beyond our awareness? Click here to view the trailer of his film, which will be screened at the exhibit, is available at the

Noa Gur, The Medium is the Message, 2011: She has put together a three-screenings video presentation made especially for the show space, relating to the panoramic view, which is seen from the roof, and the sounds heard from the offices of the ministry of communications, located on the floor below. She will attempt to interview the ministry's spokesperson. She is, in essence, mapping out what is above and below the display space, located in the "here and now" of Jerusalem.

Shay Azulai: He will paint two paintings in the dark, one on the exhibit opening and one on an evening during the exhibit, using paint seen in ultraviolet lighting. Azulai chose stories recorded by a blind woman to guide him in his work. The audio of the woman telling her stories will be played while Azulai paints, translating them into images. The painting and story will remain as evidence to a place, which was never seen.

Seskia Olda Wolvers: She will display Placebo, a relatively early, but key project in her career. This project constitutes a base for some of her artist later work, which has never been shown in Israel. Placebo tells the story of a woman lying next to her husband in an intensive care unit, after both were injured in a car accident. Gradually, the video reveals the story of the lover who, in the beginning of the relationship, untruthfully introduces himself as a doctor. Placebo pauses the moment of discovery. They both lay side by side as he is unconscious and she has discovered the truth. The story is narrated by a woman, but the video moves between abstract images and indefinable surroundings. Like in other films by Olda-Wolvers, this seems like a computerized visual manipulation, but all is made by hand.

Image for "I See Darkness" by Shai Azulai.

Tuesday to Thursday: 16:00-20:00 Friday: 11:00-14:00