NYAB Event - Alexandra Ben-Abba “Always on Our Plate”

Alexandra Ben-Abba “Always on Our Plate”

Slag

This event has ended.

“Always on Our Plate , is one part of my ongoing investigation into the uncertainty, aggression and helplessness often felt during times of conflict. Focusing specifically on Israel/Palestine, the work manifests in numerous iterations as it wrestles with questions of identity, nationality and geographic displacement. The stage for this exploration is a dining table set with a traditional Israeli meal. People gather, eat and make small talk. Seemingly mundane, the piece becomes haunting when viewers notice the gnarled images etched into the plates and the shards of glass, stone and cement impinging upon the food the company shares. Appearing as performance, video, sculpture and installation, Always on Our Plate offers numerous means for engaging with the conflict as well as the nuances of each artistic medium.”
“For this second staging of Always On Our Plate series, the artist invites the public to watch and listen as a group of artists, curators and art critics eat off of her hazardous dinnerware. Assembled with a combination of hand-blown, purchased, and gifted glass and ceramics, Always on Our Plate grew out of Ben-Abba’s method of processing ideas through exploring material relationships. She juxtaposes green and brown vessels blown at a glass factory in the Palestinian city of Hebron with elements of the official Israeli Defense Forces uniform, made of the same colors. Tacks with pointed-side up menacingly aggregate while thick clumps of cement mimic the impenetrability of the barriers between Israel and Palestine. The tactile effects of Ben-Abba’s materials can feel threatening, but her work offers a beauty and vulnerability one can only imagine was born out of navigating a life under conflict.”