A constant search for beauty is present in Eli Horesh’s work. This search has brought her to a microscopic vision where she peeks into the wonders of the microcosm. Using powerful visual amplification equipment, she explores the initial contact between a drop of water and an ink drop. Under the microscopic eye the water drop is transformed into a canvas, and with a slight touch of ink, it is turned into a painting. As with the fertilization process, the pigments enter the drop and transfigure it.
As with many other discoveries, Horesh discovered her work-action haphazardly. Out of experiments with ink and water, a cosmic wealth has been created in the “footprint” left by the fertilized water drop. Horesh initiates the process, but the painting itself is carried out by internal forces and movements. After the drop has dried out, and a new world has been created, tracing the color’s motion, Horesh scans the image in high resolution and prints it on a new sheet of paper. Thus, she brings the process full circle: Injecting ink into a water drop is completed by an inked print. Choosing the final drops is highly meaningful. Here the artist’s wisdom and aesthetics are expressed.
In her work Horesh tackles the notion of Otium, an ephemeral concept that tries to define essence of time in which a person is not productive, that time in human life dedicated to introspection and play. In her works there is a dialectic between actions the artist is involved in and those she is not. This dichotomy issues forth into harmony, just as with otium, which is maintained in the harmony between work-time and introspection. In otium, this harmony brings about diversity and infinite connections of possibilities.
Curator
Matan Daube