The Spark by Work Off Art

I was meant to visit the exhibition "The Spark" by Work Off Art at the beginning of March, but of course it was closed due to the war with Iran. I finally got there in mid-April, and I'm so glad I did.
The exhibition was curated by Ya'ara Sachs, who was also behind the groundbreaking Pop-Up Museum TLV, among other projects. As explained in one of the wall texts, the exhibition's title, "The Spark", refers to that very moment when the spark is lit - the force that drives artists and individuals to keep creating, dreaming, and illuminating their surroundings, even in times of personal and collective crisis. It was Sachs's final exhibition in Israel before opening her first international show abroad.

The exhibition is being held in the former Tara factory in Tel Aviv's central business district, once home to one of Israel's best-known dairy companies. Over time, as the dairy industry moved out of central Tel Aviv to other locations, the original factory land became highly valuable for redevelopment.

Before the site is redeveloped into large-scale residential and office towers, dozens of artists have transformed 43 rooms and office spaces into a multi-room immersive art experience. Each room reflects an artist's personal "spark". The result is a rich, colourful journey through video art, installations, sculpture and sound.

Rooms were filled with animals, knives floating in space, and areas packed with hands and furry creatures. There were giant flowers made from pipe cleaners, a music machine powered by a compressor and a party blower, a childhood room seen from a unique angle, a giant aquarium, and a large, ominous block suspended in the air. A personal favourite was Shelly Picha's room, above, where she transformed words, names, and prayers into a calligraphic space of memory and healing.

Rotem Michaeli's "Planted Here" was a soft, colourful space built from pipe cleaners. Tall flowers swayed in a gentle breeze, their constant movement highlighting the fragility of life and reality - in Israel, always, and especially today. The room offered a quiet hope that even what seems fragile and delicate is capable of blooming. It was created in memory of the artist's sister.

This room made my friend and me stop for a moment. At first glance, it seemed to tell a story of pain, of hostages, and of war. But the shadow on the wall revealed a shift - when struggle turns into hope, and hope becomes reality. We left feeling a little more hopeful.

Caroline Attoun's work reflected on how reading sparks her imagination. When she feels uninspired, she turns to books, where even a small detail - a minor character or a single sentence - can suddenly ignite new ideas. For her, reading opens up space for imagination, allowing a whole world to form beyond the written words. The work captured that moment of "falling into" a book, when text and imagination meet and creativity begins.

Studio Plan B (Maya and Max Gat-Mor) created an installation composed of sharp metal knives, suspended in a precise and harmonious structure. "Hanging by a Thread" was created after 7th October and it explored the fragile line between constant danger and moments of calm and beauty.

Sapir Ashkenazi’s room reflected on her teenage years, when she often felt caught between loneliness and connection, and between uncertainty and belonging. To calm herself, she would go to the University Railway Station and watch Tel Aviv's city skyline, mesmerised by the glowing buildings and the sense of something larger than herself.

Kobi Osher's "Through the Fracture" used concrete as a central material. A massive, cracked block appeared to float in space. From within the cracks burst light and richness - symbols of creation, life, and small moments of hope. The piece was clearly a metaphor for the weight and pressure we create in our own minds, which in truth carry no real mass.

Another favourite of mine, perhaps because they used paper, were Natalia Volkov's figures of animals native to Israel. They were built from photographs of everyday moments and familiar Israeli landscapes that inspire her. These ordinary moments of architecture and daily life were transformed into living forms, reflecting both the fragility and resilience of Israel's landscapes and the rhythm of life within them.

A number of artworks were displayed in the factory's courtyard. Anna Kogan created an anamorphic sculpture from everyday objects, which from a single viewpoint revealed a portrait of Elon Musk. The sculpture evoked his childhood room in South Africa, where he found refuge in science fiction books, comics, computer games, and encyclopaedias. From those worlds of imagination, a spark emerged - one that turned the boy into a man who dreamed of leading humanity to other planets. As we moved around the piece, the image constantly shifted, showing how perspective changes everything: what seemed ordinary or broken revealed something entirely new. It was a powerful play on perspective, imagination, and inspiration.

Finally, Elad Elyakim's piece "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life" used an eight-metre-high lift shaft in the old Tara factory. The large-scale work featured white Hebrew typography on a black background, with letters intersecting and intertwining to fill the entire surface. It continued Elyakim's practice of giving discarded spaces and objects new life through painted words and letters.

"The Spark" is a moving and thought-provoking exhibition that I really enjoyed. The works show how inspiration can come even in a difficult and complex reality, and I connected with many of the pieces, which were both interesting and thought-provoking.
It seems that sometimes, all it takes to keep going is one small spark.

* This post has been shared on Mosaic Monday, Monday Morning Blog Club, Busy Monday, Talking About It Tuesdays and Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop.