Masking – Tapism

The title for Hila Karabelnikov solo show hints at the artist’s unique working technique. A clever collage on canvas made from numerous pieces of masking-tape, stickers and colored paper, is entwined with political – content bumper stickers or ads that are made exclusively for the orthodox Jewish community. The complex image produced by this colorful intensity and multiple details refers to the every-day life of the traditional and orthodox Jewish community. In this respect, the material complexity corresponds with the depth and richness of the content it bares.

Karabelnikov’s description of communal rituals, religious practices as well as the everyday life of it’s members articulate the habits of a community in a way that her works create, as a hole, a folklore structure of orthodox Jewish life.

Yet these scenes describing costume – shopping for the Purim holiday, an orthodox wedding ceremony or a political demonstration  are not a simple attempt for this kind of articulation; Karabelnikov’s self – portrait appears in every work, as stating the scene described being a part of her life, a part of her own world.

Hila Karabelnikov lives and works in Bney – Brak.