Birds to the Parliament

2009-07-04T00:07:00.000-07:00

Back from Wakefield after wonderful and fruitful two weeks of residency in which I participated in the Identity Cards project.

The project was developed in partnership between Amili Gelbman, a visual artist based in Israel, Exhibition's curator of “And I Couldn’t Say” group and The Art House in Wakefield.

'Birds to the Parliament is the end result of the collaborative work done by Louise Atkinson and me, and presented at the final exhibition.

It uses my Israeli political satire as a starting point to explore social identity. The triptych incorporates cultural symbols from history and language to discuss the nature of democracy and class, as it relates to different regions.

We also took insparation from "Bird Parliament", by Farid ud-Din Attar, tr. by Edward FitzGerald, [1889],

I care not, I, to wait on Kings,

Whose crowns are but the Shadow of my Wings!

Louise Atkinson and Zeev Parush

Identity Cards Project

2009-05-31T23:39:00.000-07:00

On June 15 I'm going for 2 weeks to Wakefield England to participate in a British/Israeli visual artists' coloration project - Identity Cards

This project is being developed in partnership between Amili Gelbman, a visual artist based in Israel, Exhibition's curator of “And I Couldn’t Say” group and The Art House in Wakefield.

The collaboration with my British artist partner Louise Atkinson is already on the way, and we are exchanging emails with thoughts and ideas. Louise keeps in her Blog the ongoing transcript of email communication between her and me.

The Identity Cards project caught me in the middle of my own journey towards an expression of self-identity.

The journey actually started in front of the mirror, when my aging suddenly stared me in the face. I then began to create the “Mirror's Tale” series of images, in which I provide a kind of a look-within-a-look at myself in one of the most intimate and private of places.

This starting point led to questions about the contexts of time and space, in which I explore the inside and outside of my self-identity.

In my images I express feelings about health and aging, my unique relationship with my father, my thoughts about culture, society, and my interaction with the life around me.

The images I create and intend to continue creating are staged and combine logic, humor and emotions, which in more then one sense portray my own self-identity.

Bittersweet Chocolate

Birds to the Parliament

Identity Cards Project