The Pot is Boiling | Exhibition at the Department of Visual and Material Culture

On days when it is difficult to answer questions regarding our wellbeing, students and graduates from Bezalel were invited to share projects that reflect physical and mental boiling points through the art.

The works in the exhibition express the way in which each and every one experiences boiling points in his/her life routine at this time and before. Showing at the exhibition are students and graduates from the various departments at Bezalel, in addition to artists from around the country and the world.

Maya Shalev, curator of the exhibition and graduate of the Department of Visual and Material Culture, on the exhibition: In the midst of the storm of life, when emotions are bubbling and time moves relentlessly, the struggle to confront the discouraging reality intensifies. Faced with the abyss of collective trauma, we often face questions of purpose and control in life. In moments of helplessness, as if the pen and paper were forcefully dropped from us, one can wonder: when life is difficult, do we retreat into mourning, and isolate ourselves in a temple of tears and grief?

However, even in the bleakest of circumstances, we have the freedom to shape our attitude toward destiny, as Viktor Frankl argued in Man's Search for Meaning. Frankl's existential insights, rooted in logotherapy, advocate filling the space of life through meaningful experiences, whether they are artistic, spiritual or founded in love. This theory emphasizes that embracing and dealing with suffering can bring deep meaning to life.

The exhibited works, which span different mediums, offer a glimpse into the artists' processes of dealing with trauma and existential difficulties of one kind or another. Each work of art becomes a form of therapy, an acknowledgment of the weight of difficulty without denial. The choices we make shape the lives we lead, and the reality we perceive is ours to grasp, or to let go. In this exhibition, the varied trope expressions remind us that art is a transformative tool for dealing with the complexities and traumas of life.

Closing of the exhibition
Wednesday | January 31, 2024 | 11:00
Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jerusalem
Art Gallery, Idan and Batya Ofer Art Wing, Floor -1
Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Campus, 1 Zamora St., Jerusalem