Every visitor who enters the lobby of Tel Aviv’s ANU – Museum of the Jewish People is struck by an impressive piece of art within the framework of ANU’s special exhibition “October Seventh.” In just over four months after the horrific murderous invasion of Israel from Gaza carried out by barbarous Hamas terrorists, ANU gathered impactful artistic expressions of the trauma, grief, and resilience that Israelis are feeling. The exhibition begins in the lobby of the museum with a large, colorful piece of cutting-edge digital art by Israeli artist Shirley Shor.
Exhibit co-curator Carmit Blumensohn chose Shor’s newest digital art installation Journey into the Heart to set the tone for the exhibition.
“As the Museum of the Jewish People,” says Blumensohn, “we felt we must provide a fast response, a strong response to the disaster of that Black Saturday. We envisioned an exhibition talking about the disaster, the murder and kidnapping, but more the deep feelings, emotions, and trauma we all experienced.
“We chose a variety of art forms from a variety of artists for display in the exhibition, and I needed a special display for the ANU lobby to set the emotional tone for everything that follows within the exhibition.”
What's on display at ANU?
ANU – Museum of the Jewish People (formerly called the Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora) has been reimagined, and completely redesigned for visitors to experience a one-stop tour of the vast history, critical influences, and major events comprising the history of the Jewish people up to and including the establishment, progress, and growth of the State of Israel.
ANU leadership knew immediately that the horrific events of October 7, including the trauma experienced by Israelis and supporters of Israel around the world, must have a place in the ANU timeline of displays.
“Shirley’s digital display of a bright red human heart constantly changing, opening up, bleeding, repairing itself in a new way every time sets the right feeling and emotion we wanted at the beginning of the exhibition,” Blumensohn explains.
“What caught my attention was the bleeding, the moving image separating the layers of the heart, like the heart is being built not of four chambers but of many others, as we all felt and still feel of the hell we were exposed to on that Black Saturday.”
Shor describes Journey into the Heart as a means to “explore the limitless depth of the heart, a symbol of connection and unity even in adversity.”
Shor believes it was not coincidence that her new digital artistic expression focused on the heart, which had been in development for months preceding October 7. Although inspired by her individual exploration over many years of a journey into the heart, it was the universality of the metaphor which applied to the impact of October 7 on Israelis and friends of Israel abroad. The atrocities suffered by thousands of Israeli civilians at the hands of sadistic Hamas terrorists reached inhumane levels never before seen in Israel.
The heart could not absorb the terror and trauma Israelis had experienced. Yet we had to go on, recover, and move forward even in our mourning.
This is where the power of digital art, as applied by Shor, provides the perfect metaphor of the torn, bleeding, and self-repairing heart.
One might think that Shor had been preparing for this moment her whole life. Raised in Beersheba in Israel’s vast Negev desert, she was accustomed to unending horizons, open space, towering sky, quiet beauty, and striking natural geographic formations.
The natural environment surrounding Beersheba provides an emotional anchor experienced by those who live there.
For Shor, these unique attributes have rooted her artistic expressions. She is one of the earliest pioneers of applying digital technologies to artistic expression to achieve the dynamism of life itself, exploring the ubiquity of constant change unveiling the illusion of static permanence.
“The desert landscape, the density of the desert as you raise your gaze, doesn’t really mean anything. It’s beautiful, but your gaze needs something to reflect back to you. When you’re in this huge, vast nothingness in the desert, it’s clear. It’s very profound.
“Life is never static. Even though our hearts are broken, we will repair and recover, although it may not be the same as before.
“Good art is something that you can look at and keeps you thinking all the time, bringing something new from within yourself,” says Shor.
And maybe good art helps in the healing of our hearts.
Ken Toltz is an Israel-based writer who writes on Israeli culture, exploring the creative process via talented Israeli artists, filmmakers, and actors. His first home in Israel in 2019 was the Negev town of Mitzpe Ramon. He now lives near the sea in Herzliya.