ZOA opens mental health exhibition

The exhibition presents works by three artists of photography, video and painting dealing with mental illness.

Dr. Hela Hadas (from left), Tzofit Grant, and Dr. Ronit Harel attend the exhibition opening (photo credit: ANAT MOSBERG)
Dr. Hela Hadas (from left), Tzofit Grant, and Dr. Ronit Harel attend the exhibition opening
(photo credit: ANAT MOSBERG)
An art exhibit devoted to mental illness opened this week in Tel Aviv. The “Come Closer and Look” exhibition at the ZOA House’s Dvora Fischer Gallery was created by artist Asymmetry, in cooperation with Enosh-The Israeli Mental Health Association.
The exhibition presents works by three artists of photography, video and painting dealing with mental illness, among them Asymmetry himself.
Enosh director-general Dr. Hela Hadas noted that the exhibition is an invitation to look at the world of those with mental challenges, and to understand that beyond all limitations, every person has the desire to communicate, to be seen and to integrate into society without being judged and criticized. In recognition of her work, Hadas will light a torch at the Mount Herzl Independence Day ceremony on Wednesday night
The exhibition opening was attended by business people, celebrities and senior members of the association, including Enosh chairwoman Enosh Tsofit Grant and Tel Aviv-Jaffa Deputy Mayor Mehereta Baruch.
“Once, those who had psychological problems were voiceless and would just disappear,” Grant said. “Today, a mentally challenged person knows how to live with it, to withdraw into one’s self during the difficult times and to come out when the storm is over. It is our duty as an enlightened society to embrace those dealing with it and remind them that they have a million virtues, and mental illness is only a small part of them, like any other chronic illness.”