Makom-Al-Makom_catalog-new

E10 In an article written for the Connected Vessels exhibition at the Givon Art Gallery, 4 curator Yigal Zalmona wrote: "As always, a dialog is an inseparable part of Ullman's work and thought. One distinctive feature of his oeuvre is the connection he creates between the separate systems of time and space. Each work is anchored in the extremely extended time of astronomical and physical natural phenomena, while also engaging with the middle-time of ethics and human values, and with the shortest, immediate time of historical events and politics." In Sharabani's work, tension always exists between what the viewer sees (in the projections on sand tables, and in the prints hanging on the enormous concrete wall of the gallery), which are beautiful and astonishing, and the significance of those images. By exploring physical and natural phenomena within the context of global human values, he raises the concept of a world falling apart or buried in sand, unpredictable and ever-changing. It is a world that constantly challenges the familiar, the existent, the predictable, and the controllable. Ullman has an unusual way of dealing with concepts that are of concern to humanity. He engages with life, place, and the great apprehension that we, the residents of that place, feel about our safety. He relates to collective and personal aspects, and metaphorically – to the complex and exceptional Israeli reality. Sharabani's works are imbued with anxiety about reality. When the structures projected onto the sand tables rise and fall, shake, compress, and crowd, their physical state changes. Reality disappears into the sand, and suddenly grows out of it. This shakes the foundations and undermines the perception of the solid, the familiar, the safe, and the existent. The viewers have no control over what appears before their eyes. They are taken by surprise, over and over again, and the unexpected keeps amazing them. Nothing is certain. "A hole in the ground comprises two elements: The air, which is the spirit, and the earth, which is the material" 5 Micha Ullman has dug many holes over decades of artistic work. His fingers have felt many types of sand, out of which he has created his sculptures. Drorit Gur Arieh quotes Ullman: "A hole filled with vacuum"? Perhaps a cracked male-female unity, [standing] between the 4 November 2016 5 Maya Stern, interview with Micha Ullman, "Micha Ullman: digs holes, arranges weddings" 19.6.2013.