The Raft

What of the fate of those who never board the ark?
As humans, we need hope. We yearn for it, cling to it for dear life. However, we cannot find it anywhere else but within ourselves.
In Théodore Géricault’s famous painting ‘The Raft of the Medusa’, he illustrates the story of ‘La Méduse’ – a French naval frigate that struck ground and was wrecked in 1816. While the members of the upper class were evacuated on lifeboats, the lowly workers were forced to construct an improvised raft – which eventually held nearly 150 desperate people, crowded together with no means of navigation. Murder, cannibalism and mass drowning all took place, and by the time the raft was discovered two weeks later, only 15 people remained.

In this work, the Medusa raft is recreated following sketches left behind by one of its survivors. By employing local Israeli materialsand installing them in this room, packed tightly between its walls, ‘The Raft’ places viewers on the shards of a sinking ship – in the current, ongoing storm.