Dirty Harry (Installation view) - 2022
Mixed media
50 x 165 x 30 cm
Photography: Alma Ben David
A portrait of my friend Harry (acrylic on cardboard) alongside a small palm branch inside a metal paint-tube like cylinder, both on top of a classic white rectangular pedestal. Beneath, a cast aluminum Uzi gun sculpture, manufactured for the IDF, used originally for training new recruits. I purchased it from Bedouins.
The chosen materials are human related and are either used or decaying.
Harry is depicted in a soldier's uniform and has a halo above him. I had to carry a similar fake gun for a while during mandatory training. The palm tree, a regional symbol is disabled. The installation's aesthetic is that of a memorial monument to a person or in this case our collective past. It is the embodiment of our present and future, as an art piece.
The work also relates to "The Death of the Author" by Barthes.