Absent Present
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Slag Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of “Absent Present”, a solo exhibition featuring recent works by Naomi Safran-Hon.
Absent de jura – Present de facto.
“The Hebrew term Absent Present ( Nifkadim Nochehim ) refers to the Palestinians who during the war of 1948 were absent from their property but present within the borders of the newly established state of Israel. They are also referred to as internally displaced Palestinians. Although legally citizens of Israel, they could never return to their land and home; their property was confiscated by the state. This body of work deals with the absent homeowners and the present state of their homes. The pieces in this show represent the internal landscape of this conflict, the way in which war has become an intimate part of our lives. Cement pushes through lace and infiltrates every aspect of the represented world. Trees painted in cement; homes covered by cement, and interiors printed with cement.”
Safran-Hon’s work is anchored in an undeniable reality, yet, by extracting the essence from the soul of the materials she uses, she unceasingly builds, thus transforms preexisting contexts. The spirit is inherent in Safran-Hon’s intellectual construction and, as the journey described in sefer hechaloth, the inner odyssey within oneself (Anselm Kiefer) permeates her entire body of work.