Zadok Ben-David - On The Other Side

I am a big fan of the Israeli artist Zadok Ben-David's work. You may remember the posts I wrote about his installations "People I Saw but Never Met" in October 2021, and "Blackfield" in February 2010. It's very hard to find the enthusiasm to do anything these days. Between losing Gadi and then the ongoing war, it somehow feels easier to just stay at home. But a good friend came to visit for a week from the UK and she thought that Ben-David's new exhibition "On the Other Side" sounded interesting. We went together and both enjoyed it very much.

The exhibition at the Tower of David Jerusalem Museum comprises striking sculptures and a beautiful video installation created by Ben-David. Some of the works are site specific, created especially for the museum, while others have already been exhibited internationally and are being shown in Israel for the first time.

The exhibition opened just a short time before the first anniversary of 7th October, when Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel through air, land and sea, killing over 1,200 people and taking 251 Israelis hostage. It touches upon the pain that sliced through Israelis and Jews worldwide, by reflecting the tension between the boundaries of man and nature - between loss and renewed growth, between darkness and light, between despair and optimism restored.

'Cypress Trees/Fringe of the Field'

The first installation to greet us at the entrance to the museum were seven tall cypress trees hand cut from steel, above, each depicting different points in the life cycle of a tree through the seasons, from bare branches to a full leafy tree. On a closer look these trees were in fact made up of different outlines of human figures intertwined to create the effect of the tree branches. Cypress trees are a symbol of mourning in classical mythology, and are often planted at Israeli cemeteries.

'The Other Side of Midnight'

Two installations were on display in a darkened exhibition space within the museum. 'The Other Side of Midnight', above, comprises more than 2,000 miniature butterflies and insects. One side of the work offers the viewer a beautiful and optimistic world of butterflies, hand painted in bright fluorescent colours on a fine stainless-steel disc. But the other side of the piece changes that feeling to one of apprehension at the sight of insects. A closer look reveals that there are human figures rather than insects placed in between the butterfly wings, whereas the other side of the disc reveals the insects without their wings. The work was first created in 2012 and is being show for the first time in Israel.

'Same Place, Other Times'

The video work 'Same Place, Other Times', above, runs in a loop of 120 seconds and depicts a gradual transition from light to darkness, day to night, life to death. The panorama of a blooming, flower-filled field that is slowly being destroyed until it is reduced to scorched earth symbolizes the cycle of life. Ben-David sculpted each flower used in the video, and while the work was created in 2008, it has become a metaphor for the burnt, destroyed fields of Israel's south, destroyed by Hamas.

'Innerscapes on the Move'

A circle of human figures standing on the remains of the round Muslim tower, once part of David's citadel, is called 'Innerscapes on the Move', above. The figures expressive gestures and their internal activities together form a collective of human emotions and relationships. It is an installation that shows Ben-David's ongoing concern and interest in the individual and society.

'Trio of Flowers'

Lastly, 'Trio of Flowers' was created especially for the Tower of David. Three oversized, brightly painted flowers are placed against a mirror. One side of each flower is painted in vivid colors and the other side is black, which is revealed only through the mirror. This is another reminder of the cycle of life. Among the three flowers on display, the sabra plant, middle photo, symbolizes both Israeli and Arab culture.

Views of the Old City of Jerusalem, above, taken from

the Tower Of David.

The archaeological finds in the courtyard and the Ottoman minaret in the Tower of David, below.

Zadok Ben-David was born in Yemen and immigrated to Israel with his family at just six months old. In the early 1970s, he attended the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem. After fighting in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Ben-David attended the School of Art at the University of Reading in the UK, and completed studies in sculpture at St. Martin’s School of Art in London, where he taught for five years. In 1988, Ben-David was chosen to represent Israel at the Venice Biennale, and he went on to win many international awards, exhibiting his work worldwide.

Ben-David was in Japan on 7th October 2023, but within days came to Israel, where his elderly father and other family and friends live. He began working on "On the Other Side". The exhibition symbolically reflects the cycles of nature, reminding us that, like nature, we too will return, renew, and bloom again.

* This post has been shared on The Good. The Random. The Fun., Mosaic Monday, Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) and My Corner of the World.