Quietly rising over the new entrance pavilion at the Tower of David Jerusalem Museum are seven elegant straight trees hand cut from weathering steel, each depicting different points in the life cycle of a tree through the seasons, from the stark silhouettes of bare branches to the rejuvenation of a full leafy tree.
As you arrive at the museum door, on a closer look these silhouettes are, in fact, made up of different outlines of human figures intertwined to create the effect of the tree branches.
This is one of the outdoor installations created for the new exhibition “On the Other Side” by internationally acclaimed Israeli artist Zadok Ben-David, who is exhibiting for the first time at the Tower of David Jerusalem Museum.
The exhibition comprises striking sculptures and a beautiful video installation that are spread throughout the Tower of David complex, integrating site-specific works, created especially for the citadel this year, together with works that have previously been exhibited abroad and are being shown in Israel for the first time.
The exploration of contradictions and changing circumstances is the central motif in Ben-David’s lifelong work. It is expressed in various ways by means of fantastical images inspired by the natural world, metaphors for the complex spirit of man.
Current events, and the tragedy of Oct. 7, are indisputably present in this exhibition, granting it another layer and a depth of meaning that feels almost prophetic. Through images from the natural world, Ben-David touches the tension between the poles in the space where both man and nature oscillate – between loss and renewed growth, between darkness and light, between despair and optimism restored.
One of the artworks is a video installation, This Is – Same Place Other Times. It was created in January 2023 but seems almost prophetic, horrifyingly palpable, like the reality in the fields of the Western Negev region in southern Israel and in the Israeli communities on the country’s northern border. The work, a video installation that runs in a loop of 120 seconds, shows a panoramic portrayal of a blossoming field extending from horizon to horizon that is slowly destroyed, until all that remains is scorched earth. It depicts a slow and gradual transition from light to darkness, day to night, life to death, symbolizing the cycle of life, and is a contemporary metaphor for Israel’s Oct. 7 disaster.
Perhaps this is no coincidence. Ben-David served in the IDF Nahal Brigade, which was attached to Kibbutz Erez, situated one kilometer north of the Gaza Strip. From the age of 16, he had an affinity for agricultural landscapes, fields, and open spaces. Although while waiting to hear whether he had been accepted to the kibbutz he decided to pursue art studies, to this day he maintains a strong connection with the members of the kibbutz.
The conversation between Ben-David and Eilat Lieber, director and chief curator of the Tower of David Jerusalem Museum, began several years ago, but Ben-David was apprehensive about mounting an exhibition that would be solely located on the grounds of the citadel.
“To have an exhibition at David’s Tower is not a simple challenge,” said Ben-David. “In fact, it is a new challenge for me, as I haven’t worked in an archaeological space before. This is an archaeological site with a clear, strong, and dominant presence in which it is difficult to integrate contemporary artwork.”
The opening of the gallery in March 2024 in the new entrance pavilion at the museum gave Ben-David a modern and neutral space to show some of his work, facilitating an exhibition that combines interior and exterior installations. “I am excited to be able to finally show my work here,” admits Ben-David.
Born in Yemen, at the age of six months Zadok Ben-David came on aliyah with his family, which made its home in Ness Ziona. In the early 1970s, he attended the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, discontinuing his studies following the claim that he wouldn’t succeed as an artist.
After fighting in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, he attended the School of Art at the University of Reading in the British town of Reading, and completed studies in sculpture at St. Martin’s School of Art in London, where he taught for five years.
In 1988, Ben-David was chosen to represent Israel at the Venice Biennale, and he went on to win many international awards and to exhibit his work in numerous venues across the globe. Ben-David attended the opening of the exhibition this week at the Tower of David before heading off to showcase his work in the Biennale in China with an exhibit that holds 26,000 flowers.
Today, Ben-David divides his time between his studios in London and in northern Portugal, with frequent visits to friends and family in Israel. Despite feeling at home in many cities across the world, Ben-David has a special relationship with the Israeli capital.
“Jerusalem is part of my biography,” says Ben-David. “No one can remain indifferent to this city; one meets the shechina, the divine presence, as soon as one reaches Sha’ar Hagai, where the highway from Tel Aviv begins to ascend to Jerusalem.”
The exhibition will run through to April 2025 with gallery talks, events, and guided tours throughout the coming months. “At the most difficult time for Israeli society, with the beginning of a new year approaching, we invite our visitors to draw comfort and hope in the beautiful works of art featured in the exhibition,” says Lieber, who curated this exhibition.
“At first glance, the pieces reveal a vibrant world of color and beauty. Only on second glance does a darker, more tragic note emerge, resonating with the existential fear we’ve all recently faced. The name of the exhibition holds the complexity of our lives, the complexity of humankind, as well as that of nature.”
As we collectively long to be “on the other side” of this tragic period in our history, Ben-David’s art symbolically reflects the cycles of nature, reminding us that, like nature, we too will return, renew, and bloom again. ■
Close-up: ‘Cypress Trees/Fringe of the Field’
The cypress is a Mediterranean evergreen deeply embedded in the local landscape and culture of the Land of Israel. A line of cypress trees is a familiar landscape of childhood here, marking the boundaries between orchards and fields, and the trees often stand sentinel along the sides of a road. A symbol of mourning in classical mythology, cypress trees are often planted at Israeli cemeteries.
In this installation, man and nature as one are assimilated into a symbolic and infinite cycle, while the stones of the ancient wall in the background add depth and an eternal aspect.
Close-up: ‘The Other Side of Midnight’
Butterflies and insects appear on a fine stainless-steel disc, with a 2.40-meter diameter, hand-painted on both sides.
The installation comprises more than 2,000 miniature butterflies and insects, with each detail meticulously rendered in bright fluorescent colors. Created in 2012, the installation was enthusiastically received around the world and is now being exhibited in Israel for the first time, at the Tower of David Jerusalem Museum.
- What: “On the Other Side” art exhibition
- Where: Tower of David Jerusalem Museum
- When: Through April 2025
- Why: Acclaimed artist Zadok Ben-David on show for the first time at this venue
- Get ready: Gallery talks, events, and guided tours
