Old Gods
The Project for Jerusalem Design Week 2024
Curators: Dana Benshalom, Sonja Olitsky
Artistic management: Roni Yeheskel
Location: Hansen House, Jerusalem, Israel
Each year, Jerusalem Design Week revolves around a central theme that serves as a lens for examining issues unique to Jerusalem and Israel, while also resonating globally.
In 2024, the theme of “The Ark” was selected. But what is an ark? At its core, it is a refuge from the flood—a sanctuary for preserving life, a vessel to gather the essential elements from which a new world may be built. It’s a place of protection, from which one watches the horizon, awaiting the dove with an olive branch, signaling the emergence of dry land. The ark represents a temporary home, a shelter amid turbulent waters, and a beacon of hope in the midst of a storm.
As the flood waters withdraw and dry out, remains of the previous world are gradually uncovered, among them images of the deities humans once worshiped. What significance do they hold in the reborn world? Do ancient belief systems have a place in the distant future? Can archaic values be used to fix the wrongs of this world?
In the project ‘Old Gods’, the deities have lost their sanctity, becoming merely abandoned objects.
In cooperation with the incredible 2 Artists, we created an ensemble of three large outdoor site-specific sculptures, each of which echoes popular monolithic prehistoric depictions and Canaanite deities of the Bronze Age.
