Hansen | הנסן

The exhibition In-attention is an opportunity to have such experiences. Presented at the concluding conference of The Evolution of Attention in Modern and Contemporary Culture Research Group, part of the Mandel Scholion Research Center at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the exhibition seeks to challenge our ability to direct our attention inwards and outwards by inviting us to wander through the worlds of two artists: Avivit Segal and Yehudah Roth. While each of them walks a different artistic path, both tread the line between inside and outside, natural and artificial, construction and deconstruction, and both create spaces out of the images, ideas, memories, and emotions that result from processes of attention and deep focus. These spaces and the objects they contain and consist of represent a displaced past that relates to the present and affects the future.

The exhibition revolves around objects that open up spaces where the unseen is made visible, enabling visitors to have interactions that lie outside the scope of the known and familiar. Outside the gallery, two new spaces represent the circle of life and death. One is the site-specific installation Bare Bones, for which Segal collected skeletons and bones—a testament to the lives lived on this Earth and a symbol of their cyclical nature. Oscillating between presence and absence, this installation touches on mysticism and spiritual rituals. The second site-specific installation is Bread Wall, for which Segal meticulously wove loaves of bread in a checkerboard pattern. The power of this installation goes beyond the painstaking craftsmanship and the novel shape that resulted from it. First and foremost, its power lies in the reference to the essential food staple that nourishes and sustains us. In these times of upheaval and compromised safety, Bread Wall expresses a desire to reconnect with our roots and foundations. It reminds us of the circle of life and evokes thoughts of building and renewal as we look to the future. The interplay of natural and artificial surroundings and inner and outer worlds invites us to challenge the obvious by listening to our bodies and looking inwards.