Alluvium

Alluvium is a name for loose sediments of sand, stones, clay, and seeds, which accumulate in water channels as a product of alluvial deposit, the movement of solid particles carried by forces of water and wind. The Arava is rich in alluvium, a material found between the cliffs and stream channels, most of which are dry wadis. Alluvium is used for filling gardens and as a substrate for growing plants. In a sense, we are all wadi alluvium as we live in the desert, between mountains and dry riverbeds, where forces of attraction and repulsion affect and inspire our creation and the dialogue within ourselves and with the world.

 

"Alluvium" is the title of the group exhibition of Arava artists in which the works of art displayed are products of the creative processes that sink, drift and move in the wadis of the artists’ inner world. Similarly, the artists are exposed to gravity and desert forces as they sculpt and cast in bronze, iron, wood and clay, and paint with oil paints, watercolours and acrylic, expressing complex and personal inner processes.

 

Besides resembling the creative processes, alluvium also resonates with the movements of humans in deserts, whether in past migratory trade convoys, or in pioneering permanent settlements in the modern age. Walking through the wadis in search of tranquillity and inspiration becomes existential oxygen for local artists, and is embodied in their works, which reflect the environment in which they create.

 

As a result of these circular processes, the exhibition provides double insight into the relationship between art and environment - between the influences of the geographical and human environment of the Arava in which the artists create, and the diverse representations of the environment through the works of each artist. By integrating communal art with creative individualism, a new embodiment of alluvium, sediment, spirit - is introduced into the eyes of the observers.

Credits

Text: Adva Shai

Installation: Andre Gunter

Lighting: Reuven Ghartner

Graphics: Studio Arava