Ezri Tarazi’s recycled design also draws important attention to how much conflict informs the Israeli identity.
Any visitor to Jerusalem can attest to a palpable tension, an energy, if you will, that scrunches together hundreds of years of political and religious positioning. That same aura rises above almost every Israeli and Palestinian home. And it is full of conflict. Imagine living in a place where every day war is a perceived threat, where every day people vy for their homeland. Ezri Tarazi attempts to if not reconcile at least recognize the extent to which this energy pervades the country with his beautiful design project currently on show at Tel Aviv’s Paradigma gallery.
All Israelis are required to do military service, including females, so there is virtually no escape from the constant thrum. By transforming materials or objects used in war to create home furnishings, the Israeli designer physically manifests what is already psychologically very real for everyone.
Called Kalab, which is army speak for “close to home,” the exhibit will be on display until 18 March, 2011. Featured pieces include the tired tire lamp which uses pieces of satchel to represent army truck tires, while the “soft revetment” shown above recreates a sandbag fortification – as real to many of us as any Hollywood film.
These cream leader bookshelves are re-purposed from used ammunition boxes; knowledge and learning are thought to be an anecdote to war and conflict, so we find this piece particularly moving.
The thermal earth coffee table below mimics a thermal aerial image taken from unmanned army air vehicles.
Taken from designboom, Tarazi writes:
“The home becomes a ‘closed military zone’ that in its comfort can diminish the natural defense mechanism. This exhibition raises the questions of anxiety, home and sense of security, at times when soldiers and civilians play equal part in the confrontation. This could be the confrontation with our enemies or the confrontation within us, between our primal behaviors and the tamed ones.”
:: designboom
More on Israeli Designers:
Brigitte Cartier Creates Baladi Recycled Design
Tel Aviv’s Junktion Studio Inspires Us To Reconsider Junk
Israel, Iran Take Top 2 In Endangered Species Design Competition
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
