A Generation

The international exhibition “A Generation” explores the notion of truth in relation to illusion, fiction, and the perception of reality. It focuses on the work of artists who address private as well as global historical events, ostensibly stamped by an imprint of “truth,” even if they do not purport to document reality. It explores the grounding of these events, which seem to be rooted in the notion of “truth” and therefore need not be proved, while posing the concepts of “testimony” and “witnessing” at its core.
Witnessing as a practice intended to “capture the truth” is manifested in many different fields, such as history, law, literature, science, psychology, and art. In the technologically-saturated, media-dominated digital era, testimony has become a readily accessible source, often accompanied by images, whose prevalence only reinforces the questions of “truth” and “authenticity” associated with this charged concept.
The exhibition strives to propose a new perception of the “witness” in the artistic context, by exploring the status of the artist as a witness. It delves into this state of lack in-between being and nonbeing, reality and fiction, while introducing the work of art not as a testimony, but as a potential, a means to draw nearer to the inconceivable, to that which may only be imagined.
Many of the participating artists revive past events, introducing them for reconsideration. Thus, the artist’s work, precisely by virtue of his capacity as a “fictive witness” external to the event, makes for a fresh view of reality. The existence of artistic work beyond the boundaries of censorship and the immediate ethical restrictions enables the shattering of conventions and preconceptions, thus expanding the possibilities of exploring human knowledge and existence
Featuring artists from Israel, Germany and the Netherlands, the exhibition spans works in diverse media: cinema, video, sound, photography, and animation.
With the participation of th Goethe Institut, Tel Aviv