Sweet Rose, 2019, Hila Amram

Photo: Hadar Saifan

What

Interventional installation, Glass Pavilion: mixed media

Who

Hila Amram, b. 1976

Why

Hila Amram’s installation intervenes in the Glass Pavilion's permanent display, where it engages with the surrounding archaeological artifacts. Setting down plastic containers of rose-scented hand soap and pink plastic balls among ancient Islamic vials, which once contained rosewater for medicinal, ceremonial and religious uses, the artist disrupts a typical museum display. The centuries-old, handcrafted glass vials now share the space with synthetic, industrially produced plastic containers devoid of charm. The natural rosewater once contained in the ancient vials is reincarnated as a fluorescent pink liquid of with an almost toxic appearance. Yet these readymade containers in the permanent display showcase do not merely offer a critique of contemporary consumer culture. The disruption created in the display invites us to critically consider the way historic artifacts are exhibited in museums and the stories they tell, reminding us that the existing display is only one way of presenting and interpreting the past.

Where

On display in the Glass Pavilion, Tel Aviv Biennale of Crafts & Design, MUZA – Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv.