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Zadok Ben David's exhibition, Blackfield, at Shoshana Wayne Gallery through May 16th, is like stepping through Carroll's looking glass into a more sublime Wonderland. Or experiencing first-hand the moment when Dorothy leaves behind black and white Kansas and wakes up in Technicolor Munchkin land. In other words, I loved it.
The installation in the main room is a field of 12,000 miniature black botanical creations, or specifically, photo-etched steel plants, laid out across of layer of perfectly placed sand. Each plant is an intricately made replica of Victorian botanical drawings, and the effect is like myriads of book illustrations magically sprung from the page into three-dimensional existence. I don't want to say much more about the main installation because so much of the marvel results from the surprising metamorphosis of the plants as you walk the parameter of the work. And the reward for your interaction with Ben David's garden of delight is a resurrection of the inner child's boundless wonderment.
The second room of the exhibition contains several wall-mounted perspex boxes filled with the same steel flowers as the main installation. The backs of the boxes are mirrored, revealing that the graphic black sculptural landscape facing you is in reflection fully colored.
Taking the physical steps to move through Ben David's exhibition and discovering how his work responds by revealing beautiful and surprising changes feels subsequently like a gentle reproach by the artist to be wary of self-imposed boundaries of perspective. He reminded me that as long as one continues to move forward, present reality has the possibility to transform into future's best what could be.
Image courtesy of Shoshana Wayne Gallery and photographed by Gene Ogami.
For more information please visit http://www.shoshanawayne.com/press_release_1_iframe.html
Gallery location and hours:
Bergamot Station
2525 Michigan Avenue B1
Santa Monica CA 90404
310.453.7535
Tue-Fri 10am - 6pm / Sat 11am - 5:30pm
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