Richard Deacon – Art for Other People #6. For me, this work is a masterpiece of idea, matter, and emotion. It's enigmatic and creates the sensation I hope to stimulate in the viewers of my works. When I saw this work for the first time at the Tate, it was very emotional for me. I knew Deacon before, but wasn't very into his work until I saw it live. It's a small work, positioned on the floor, and I found myself seated in front of it for an hour, trying to decipher what it does to me. It was a very spiritual experience. Afterwards, I knew what I wanted to create with my art – connection between philosophy and material. It's a sort of triangle - material that serves the mind and generates emotion. In my opinion, Deacon mastered this triangle.
Through my work, I try to find parallels. The form of my artwork Cabbage - Heart, for instance, echoes the things that happen inside our bodies. It's all emotionally tied together, of course, and I don't select random objects. Science provides me with this freedom – through it, I can interrogate theories that influence reality itself. I try to find an order, repetition, and I find it through form. I use mostly organic materials. I used to work with silicone when at one point I felt like it was a "lie"; I don't want to create props, but the thing itself. With ceramics, I feel like what you see is what you get. I hope the viewer connects with an inner, primordial emotion or knowledge when they observe the work. That they experience a sort of uncanny sensation, like the one you get when looking at the stars. I try to address things at the heart of humanity, and I want people to try to figure out what it is they are confronted with.
I was born in Herzliya and have always made objects. After my IDF service, I attended Bezalel. Most of my practice is a visual and material examination that ties together different fields – geometry, philosophy, physics, astronomy, mysticism. My process begins with texts and images of scientists and philosophers. In the following stage, I create. I love mold casting - with molds, I can copy nature, and then this copy can be modified and layered. I was always interested in parallel universes, whether through astrology or alchemy. I am fascinated by the notion that there's a "beyond" that exceeds what we see or feel.
Netaly Aylon, 34, multidisciplinary artist, lives in Tel Aviv.
