Tal Hafner

Skin

Solo show, 2024​​

Curatorial & artistic mentorship: Maayan Mozes Platnic & Roni Raviv.

Presented as part of "Jaffa Residency" at the Jaffa Well house.​​

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The exhibition "Skin" explores the intricate spectrum of nature and culture and that of agency and vulnerability placed within it, as manifested along the Jabalya beach in Jaffa. This artistic endeavor intertwines poetism, play and fantasy with the stark realities of war, destruction, and appropriation - reflecting not only on Jaffa but on the country as a whole. At its core, the exhibition is born from the bodies that I choose to displace: my private body alongside the marine, geological, biological, and cultural bodies of the  beach.

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The beach, known also as Givat Aliyah or Rif beach, serves as the southern perimeter of the city, with access regulated similar to other declared beaches in Tel Aviv. Yet, a mere left turn and a brief stroll reveal another aspect – a narrow wild beach, engulfing currents, coral rocks that pierce the sea's facade, and towering kurkar cliffs whose peaks house ancient cemeteries.

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My personal individual experience of the beach resonates with the essence of primal, untamed nature – cladded in my  sealskin, I frolic in the water, sink into the sand, and embrace the beach lilies. My aspiration is to merge with each of them, to dance with the wolves perched on the kurkar cliffs. In stark contrast, the cultural gaze directed at me is oppositional and objectifying, instilling in me a sense of insecurity while reshaping the beach into a heterotopic space.

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The feeling of vulnerability, intensified by the events of October seventh, has seeped into the very fabric of the work. The yearning for peace has transformed into a palpable terror, an overwhelming sense of insecurity against the tide of patriarchy – manifesting as men and war that utterly dominates the beach space, particularly as missiles crossing paths toward the sea go un-intercepted.

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That same holistic vulnerability further amplifies the history inherent within the fragments of homes scattered along the beach. The sand, punctuated with shards, recalls the "garbage mountain" that once cloaked the adjacent coastline at the foot of the Ajami neighborhood. Here, remnants of homes once stood, now replaced by a verdant Jaffa Slope Park. In this exhibition, these shards metamorphose into historical artifacts, presented alongside the historical narrative of Jaffa Well house, the other end of the cultural material preservation spectrum in the city (albeit with certain aspects of its history concealed as well). A wall mural made of salt, crafted from crystals dried from the shore’s waters, engages in a dialogue with the house, advancing the stenciled ornamental motifs visible in other rooms.

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Each work within the exhibition embodies a complex interplay of duality between fantasy and the beach's reality. The radiant sea creatures, filled with sand sourced from the shore, resonate with the colors of the fragments of homes and find sanctity in their presence. Together with the video works, they invite viewers to immerse themselves, thereby influencing the dynamics of power that exist between them.

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The utilization of materials sourced from the beach as raw components stems from a desire to utilize the very essence of the space to represent its occurrences. This leads us to ponder whether the nature that embodies me has, in this endeavor, detached itself from the nature that is the surrounding environment and directed a consumptive gaze (even one imbued with biophilia) towards it – transforming nature into a landscape, a consumable entity ripe for appropriation. Yet, as the exhibition closes, the sand extracted from the beach will be returned, while the sea's waters remain abundant, a consequence of the climate crisis. Ultimately, the remnants of homes will also find their way back to the shore, lacking a suitable framework for their preservation.

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Acknowledgments: Benny Hafner, Tzipi Hafner, Hannah Asheri, Neta Meizles, Itzik Alaluf, Amnon Lipkin, Gabriel Upholstery - Gabi and Moshe, Zohar Elmakayes and the "Moharatim" program, Riki Elkayam, Adva Arel.

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