Liat Elbling: Proposals for Disorder September 8 — October 28, 2017

In my art I employ different media and disciplines in the aim of introducing a discussion surrounding the values of photography and reflecting on its nature. Consequently, I find that I oftentimes choose to put down the camera in order to strengthen my familiarity with it, and step away from the photograph in
order to better look at it.

My works touch and generate discussions in different disciplines and delve into subjects that preoccupy me: architecture and its components, as well as
the notion of "home", have a predominant presence in my works, at times in its mental and emotional connotations, and other times through the examination of
its graphic boundaries, its manifestation in a new space. In a research project (Untitled) I conducted over a period of more than five years, I photographed houses throughout Israel, which I then digitally manipulated by removing and obscuring basic markers in them, such openings and windows. The photographed details were designed, processed, and refined until they looked partially like pseudo-architectural three-dimensional digital models, despite having a source anchored in reality. The structures underwent transformation and from the principle of "home", became monuments with questionable content and functional quality.

Throughout my process I seek to explore the basic, familiar principles of photography – its ability to preserve, to mediate, and to create – but more importantly is looking at how these principles affect our perceptions, of how elements may be represented: studying the object which "has been there" through its representation, looking at a copy instead of the original, watching a performance instead of living the experience. Nowadays, to my feel, we have no need for photography that follows reality, quite the contrary – more often we strive to match reality to the photographic image, which gained the status of an ideal.

The Interactions Series, as well as Proposals for Disorder are ongoing projects, which started already in 2013. In these series, I adopted a slightly different approach, and now, rather than taking away and eliminating details from existing models, I construct and compose them in my studio.these structures are some kind of gestures to the world i surrounded by: the street, the city, the view outside my window. I employ various materials: wood, MDF, plaster, Styrofoam, cardboard, and paper, painting each "set" in a solid color, which is also manifested in the printing and framing process.

By this actions I return to art’s basic characteristics: perspective, light and shade, exam the relationship between two-dimensionality and threedimensionality, and encounters between materials, colors and textures. I wish to explore of course principles which are prevalent in photography – creating a replica in relation to the original, visual deceptions and disruption of space – but also am fascinated by how we can, briefly, simply, almost just ”forget” about the photograph.

The issues I'm focusing on reflect my need to explore the medium of photography as it relates to itself, to the social order, and to other media, whether the photographs are about architectural structures, plates, or flowers; I have employed these as tools in my reflections on photography.

Tel Aviv is a place known for its rich history that is obvious when walking along the city streets. Founded in 1909, the city thrives as an architectural gem, with contemporary buildings sitting alongside Bauhaus and other modernist styles. It is here, within this high tech city, that Liat Elbling finds her inspiration. In her studio, she constructs architectural models made from wood, clay, plaster, paper and paint. These fictitious spaces, printed and painted in a singular color, are inspired by her surroundings. Working within the same tradition as James Casebere, Lori Nix and Thomas Demand, Elbling’s framed photographs create a dialogue about perception and reality.

Like many still-life photographers, Elbling cuts, tapes and assembles objects on a table, condensing or expanding the physical space through meticulous lighting. Proposals for Disorder presents 23 photographs that examine how the construction of a space can affect ones mood. A gray room can be both soothing and non-descript; red is the color of passion and danger; merlot the color of a soothing wine. In each of these scenarios, Elbling uses color to create an atmosphere that invites the viewer into a world that is as comforting as it is suspenseful. As she states, it is her desire to “return to art’s basic characteristics: perspective, light and shade, examining the relationship between two and three dimensionality, and the blending of materials, colors and textures.”

Liat Elbling was born in Ramat-Gan, Israel (1980) and currently lives in Tel Aviv. In 2009, she graduated with honors from the Department of Photography at the Minshar School of Art and has since been working full-time as an artist. Elbling’s work has been shown in numerous exhibitions throughout Israel, and in solo shows in Haifa, Tel Aviv and Belgium. Most notably, she had a solo exhibition at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in 2011 after receiving the prestigious Leon Constantiner Prize for an Israeli photographer.

With support from the Consulate General of Israel to the Mid-West.