Artists introduce / Etamar Beglikter

The inspiration for my current exhibition, "The Messenger", is my relative, Yoni Max Mano, who committed suicide nearly half a year ago on Allenby Street in Tel Aviv. During the last period of his life, "Angel" or "Mala", as referred to by his friends, lived and worked on Allenby Street. He encountered marginal groups of society- the homeless, beggars and the neglected and would help them by offering them food, a night's sleep at his home and even money. Without warning Yoni ended his life and shot himself in the middle of the busy street. This tragic event, impossible to rationalize, is the motivation for this series of work that seeks to deal with and understand the enigma of suicide. The exhibition, curated with the help of Arie Berkowitz and Yona Fischer includes a few select pieces meant to immortalize, document and commemorate Yoni, while reflecting upon the experience of death and the feeling of absence that comes with it. Two prominent pieces reflect the silhouette of Yoni's profile, like in a Christian icon or an antique coin. The exhibition also includes objects such as the remainders of burnt pages from the Hebrew Encyclopedia, representing the end of knowledge and the end of the world; cement vases slapped with tar, similar to ancient burial vases; and a series of cypress silhouettes, hinting towards the cypress trees planted in most cemeteries in Israel.

Etamar Beglikter's exhibition, "The Messenger", will be displayed in the Artist's House in Tel Aviv until February 2nd. A discussion about the exhibition led by Dr. Baruch Blich, the artist Etamar Beglikter and the Curators: Arie Berkowitz & Yona Fischer ,will take place on Friday February 18th at 12:30 p.m.

Taken from Art/Hila Skolink-Brenner, City Mouse of Newspaper Haaretz's , 17.2.11

Beglikter ©