Already during her undergraduate studies at Beit Berl College (Hamidrasha), artist Lihi Shani developed a distinct artistic language using toys and ready-made items that she orders and purchases on the internet. In this exhibition Shani continues to work in her unique visual language, enabling her to examine the dissonance between childish innocence and the belligerent and violent reality that is now surrounding us. The objects Shani creates are all based on models of children’s toys, which she manipulates in various ways – some she empties out and places in unexpected positions and others she grotesquely enlarges and intensifies. In their enlarged form, toys that should represent lighthearted naughtiness and mischievousness become threatening and distorted, creating a sense of absurdity and unease. This process is intended to reflect the current chaotic reality in Israel against the backdrop of the events of October 7 and the Iron Swords War, whose end, at least at the time these lines are being written, is nowhere in sight.
In this exhibition, Shani investigates the cultural reality in our country, while placing emphasis on how it is shaped by social and political pressures. The objects in the exhibition seek to arouse discussion and discourse critical of the local militaristic ethos. To accomplish this, Shani uses biting humor, sarcasm, and visual design that integrates ready-made toys enlarged to ten times their original size.
Among the items in the exhibition: inflatable tanks adjacent to the Pit (arousing connotations of the Hamas tunnels); various toy weapons, punctured and deflated, arranged to simulate the deployment of weapons; children’s pool floats depicted as tires burning in rubber flames, pressed into a frame and deflated. In addition, the display includes objects such as a bottle of champagne, a cigar and forged passports, cynically referring to contemporary political events, together with symbols of masculinity such as gigantic cigars together with a variety of moustaches resembling those grown by reserve troops at the beginning of the war – a humoristic trend designed to symbolize power and courage.
The absurdity of the exhibition underscores the discrepancy between the innocence of play and the cruel reality it reflects. Thus, not only does the exhibition arouse thoughts about social construction from a young age and the influence of this type of toys on children. It also confronts the viewer with broader cultural and political questions. Here the critical and sarcastic artistic language serves as a call to reexamine the cultural values and narratives that have shaped Israeli society, often against its will.
Nitsan Shuval Abiri
Exhibition Curator
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