Interview Directory 

ART

Name: Osnat Ben Dov

Occupation: Artist

Residence: Israel

©Osnat Ben Dov

“The shadow of a passing bird is something that passes by very quickly. You can't see it. It has disappeared. When the war is over, I long to see the bird again, because it is life. I don't want to see its shadow again."

How did the contact with Düsseldorf and the Johanna Ey Foundation come about? What is it like for you to live and work in Düsseldorf?“

The connection with Düsseldorf stems from my relationship with the artists' village En Hod in Israel. The city invited me to an artist exchange programme, but then the war started and it was difficult for me to leave the country in this situation. At that time I had a big exhibition in the gallery in Kibbutz Be'eri. The day Hamas came to Israel, they also attacked Kibbutz Be'eri. They burnt the gallery, and of course they burnt all 20 of my works and many of my books. The Düsseldorf Cultural Office heard about it and said: ‘We want to do something’. They initially suggested that we only organise the exhibition in parliament. I am now exhibiting here together with the artist Sofie Berzon MacKie. At the opening, I met an extraordinary woman, Miriam Koch (Head of Cultural Affairs Düsseldorf, editor's note), who contributed a lot to the exhibitions, and also Angélique Tracik, who opened the exhibition at the Johanna Ey Foundation. (Head of the Düsseldorf Cultural Office, editor's note).

The name of the exhibition is ‘Shadow of a passing bird’, just like the name of the original exhibition in Israel, which was burnt. The shadow of a passing bird is something that passes by very quickly. You can't see it. It has disappeared. When the war is over, I long to see the bird again, because it is life. I don't want to see its shadow again.

‘I realised that the daylight in Düsseldorf is a different light to the light in Israel. It's as if I'm a painter and you have a new palette of colours and also a new palette of prayers.’

The city invited you to work here. What was that like for you?

I stayed in Düsseldorf for a month. It was supposed to be a longer stay, but because of the war and my children in Israel, I couldn't afford it. I work with daylight and realised that the daylight in Düsseldorf is a different light to the light in Israel. It is as if I am a painter and you have a new palette of colours and also a new palette of prayers.

The exhibition features four works that were created in the Düsseldorf studio. They are connected to everyday life there, a cup of coffee, a waistcoat that was in the studio, flowers bought in the city.

Do you only photograph with daylight?

That is the core of my work - a physical connection. How do I capture the light of a place, the light of the city, the light of the season? You start with the light of one moment, but at every other moment it becomes a different light.

Why is the light in Düsseldorf different from that in Israel?

The light in Düsseldorf is very soft. The photos are more vivid because the light is soft, shadows and highlights don't stand out as much. Details between the colours, the shadows and the light are more visible.

“Everyone in Israel is tense because in one minute your whole life changes.“

How is your life in Israel at the moment. Were you personally affected by the Hamas attack? How are you surviving there; are you able to work as an artist or is there no place for it in your life at the moment?

I was personally affected because my exhibition is in the area where the Hamas attack took place on 7 October. I know many people who were murdered. My gallery owner survived by a miracle. 

Everyone in Israel is tense because in one minute your whole life changes. It's very traumatic because it makes you feel that your life is no longer safe. I can't live normally, I can't be relaxed, I can only think about small things. But I dream about art. I myself live in Tel Aviv, which is now also under attack. It's actually a normal city, but when the attacks come, you have to go to a safe place to avoid being hurt.

Your work is politicised in Düsseldorf. How does that make you feel?

I felt very welcome, but I want the art to speak and not myself, as I am not a political person. The exhibition shows the beauty of life, of life in Israel, the little things and not the destruction and the bombs. I agreed with Sofie that we didn't want to show pictures of war.

How did you get into art photography, because I read that you worked as a commercial photographer?

That's an interesting question, because it was the opposite. When I was very young, I went to art school. After that, I was curious about the technical aspects and went to another school that focussed on professional photography for advertising. But when I finished both schools, my husband, who is a sculptor, and I asked ourselves: what do we do at home with two artists? So I worked as a commercial and food photographer for 10 years. Mostly with a lounge format, four by five inches. It was very close to what I actually wanted to do.

I also felt very close to my three children and wanted to fulfil my role as a mother to the full. Good things happened in our lives because of them. When the children grew up a bit, I realised that there was room for bigger things again.

‘Still life feels like a big family. Still life is my home.’

How did you arrive at your artistic theme of still life?

I like to look at things for a long time and still lifes give my eyes the time they need. My inspiration comes from the Italian painter Giorgio Morandi, Karel Dujardin and Francisco de Zurbarán. Still life feels like a big family. The Dutch still lifes feel like my parents - but they contain more symbolism. My still lifes are about everyday life, the little things. When I arrived at Düsseldorf airport late in the evening, I bought small pears, which I brought to the studio and which you can also see here in the photo. This is how my new home was designed in a Düsseldorf studio. Still life is my home.

“Every photo reveals a secret. Sometimes I work on a picture for 2 hours, sometimes for 2 days - you never know when the magic begins.“

Your photos look like paintings.

It's a long look at things. I put my camera on a tripod and the situation starts to develop; it's like a dance. I have three hands. I move the objects, the light changes and then a surprise happens - suddenly a magic arises between the objects. There's no other way to explain it. Every photo reveals a secret. Sometimes I work on a picture for 2 hours, sometimes 2 days - you never know when the magic starts.

---

©Osnat Ben Dov

©Osnat Ben Dov