Untitled 2002 (110/88 cm each) 

"In Untitled (2002), close-up photographs of wood-like Formica surfaces,
David Adika stops to reflect on the material essence of a surmised object— probably a table—of which we only see the photographed outer layer. This pause is reinforced by two prints of the same material, a repetition that requires the viewer to find almost indiscernible differences. The curlicue pattern of the surface echoes both concrete and abstract “Oriental” decorative styles. The photographed Formica is actually a wood-patterned silk print which has been reduced to a thin, smooth, and wipe-able surface; an accessible surface in non-hierarchical domestic setting. The idea of the wood has been lost to the point that its essence cannot be extracted from its image. The hyper-realistic photographic technique and large format aggrandize the Formica surface, creating an image that relies on touch or memory, more than on immediate recognition."

[ Dr. Tal Ben Zvi, Curator ] 

Untitled 2002 (145/125 cm)

Untitled 2002 (110/125 cm each)

"Mother Tongue" Installation View, Ein Harod Museum, 2002

Mother Tongue Portraits, Hagar Gallery, Jaffa 2002 [ Curator: Tal Ben Zvi ]  

Eli Petei 2002 (125/165 cm) 

"An elaboration on the biographical dimension in the economy “identity vs. imagined community” can be found in D a v i d A d i k a ’s Portraits (2002). The series was presented at the Hagar Galley in Jaffa at the same time the Mother Tongue exhibit was held at the Museum of Art Ein Harod, and includes the portraits of most of the artists who participated in the exhibit. These photographs were presented as a separate body of knowledge that corresponds with the themes of the exhibit. Like the biography, an artist’s visibility is also uncommon in the field of Israeli art. Being seen is limited to the tradition of “Self-Portrait” as painted or photographed object, or accentuated subject positions in specific works of art. The would-be typological nature of Adika’s series is undermined by a lack of uniform composition and distance/proximity games with the photographed subjects. Indeed, the photographs share certain features such as size, format, and time of capture, but these are but a means for Adika to avoid stylistic unity and convey the heterogeneity of the fractured Mizrahi experience. Facial expressions are highlighted so as not to portray the subjects as passive. Exhibiting the artists’ portraits alongside, albeit apart from, their works of art, points to a desire to go beyond the “artistic.” It suggests seeing the artists’ subjectivity as expressive of social and cultural relations beyond the creation of “works of art,” as expressive of their biographies and actual lives".

[ Part from the text: Deferring Language as a Theme in the Work of Mizrahi Artists  by Dr Ben Zvi, Curator ]

Mother Tongue Portraits, Hagar Gallery, Jaffa 2002 [ Curator: Tal Ben Zvi ]  

Khen Shish 2002 (125/165 cm) 

Mother Tongue Portraits, Hagar Gallery, Jaffa 2002 [ Curator: Tal Ben Zvi ]  

Alice Keligman 2002 (125/165 cm) 

Mother Tongue Portraits, Hagar Gallery, Jaffa 2002 [ Curator: Tal Ben Zvi ]  

Adi Nes 2002 (125/165 cm)

Mother Tongue Portraits, Hagar Gallery, Jaffa 2002 [ Curator: Tal Ben Zvi ]  

Tal Shushan 2002 (125/165 cm)

Mother Tongue Portraits, Hagar Gallery, Jaffa 2002 [ Curator: Tal Ben Zvi ]  

Rami Maymon 2002 (125/165 cm)

Mother Tongue Portraits, Hagar Gallery, Jaffa 2002 [ Curator: Tal Ben Zvi ]  

Netta Harari Navon 2002 (125/165 cm)

Mother Tongue Portraits, Hagar Gallery, Jaffa 2002 [ Curator: Tal Ben Zvi ]  

Yaacob Ronen Morad 2002 (125/165 cm)

Mother Tongue Portraits, Hagar Gallery, Jaffa 2002 [ Curator: Tal Ben Zvi ]  

Dafna Shalom 2002 (125/165 cm)

Mother Tongue Portraits, Hagar Gallery, Jaffa 2002 [ Curator: Tal Ben Zvi ]  

Mosh Kashi 2002 (125/165 cm)

Mother Tongue Portraits, Hagar Gallery, Jaffa 2002 [ Curator: Tal Ben Zvi ]  

Tal Shochat 2002 (125/165 cm)

Mother Tongue Portraits, Hagar Gallery, Jaffa 2002 [ Curator: Tal Ben Zvi ]  

Pinchas Cohen Gan 2002 (125/165 cm)

Mother Tongue Portraits, Hagar Gallery, Jaffa 2002 [ Curator: Tal Ben Zvi ]  

Yigal Nizri 2002 (125/165 cm)

Mother Tongue Portraits, Hagar Gallery, Jaffa 2002 [ Curator: Tal Ben Zvi ] 

Eliyahou Erik Bokobza 2002 (125/165 cm)

Mother Tongue Portraits, Hagar Gallery, Jaffa 2002 [ Curator: Tal Ben Zvi ]  

Baruch Shacham 2002 (125/165 cm)

Mother Tongue Portraits, Hagar Gallery, Jaffa 2002 [ Curator: Tal Ben Zvi ]  

David Adika (Self Portrait) 2002 (125/165 cm)