Human Tapestry 2018

FRESH PAINT CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR, TEL AVIV, 2018

Human Tapestry / Yochi Shrem

Curator: Dana Gillerman

 

Yochi Shrem’s Human Tapestry is a site-specific installation that replicates the various shapes of human DNA through dozens of handmade crochetings and photographs of the textured pieces. The inside of the body that exists beneath the shell, the veins, innards, capillaries, and skin, is given a colorful and aesthetic appearance, spread out like a tablecloth over aluminum elements that look like contours of body parts peeking out. Thus a kind of conversion of inside to outside takes place, with the inside of the body visible but the outside of the body is concealed. The body of crocheted pieces, artificial skin and sculpted body parts throbs in a delicate rhythm of breathing in and out testifying to the life beneath.

The engagement in the body has been present in Shrem’s oeuvre over recent years following a rare blood disease which has affected her. It is reflected in the labor of crocheting and weaving accomplished over a period of many months. Shrem practiced these handiworks in her childhood and has now returned to engage in them from an entirely different place, successfully integrating the needlework into the language of contemporary women’s art. Contemporary women’s art has taken needlework out of its inferior, feminine, domestic status and transformed it into a free-standing medium expressing power and strength.

 

Photography and Videography by Neta Cones and Meirav Groll