Yaniv began to experiment and, using only the newsprint and regular white glue, began to create sculptures.
By GILAH KAHN-HOFFMANN, STAFF
Liat Yaniv, 27, had always wanted to transform her spirited, lyrical drawings into three dimensional characters. While in Denmark on a student exchange program, she realized that she lacked the financial means to buy materials for a design assignment. Casting her eyes around her apartment, she noticed a large stack of newspapers in the corner. Yaniv began to experiment and, using only the newsprint and regular white glue, began to create sculptures. "The colors in the newspapers came in so many shades and patterns that they were all that I needed to give my characters their diverse personalities," she says. Her lack of funds proved to be the trigger to the original and evocative metamorphosis of her drawings. A free exhibit of Yaniv's work will conclude October 24 at Kibbutz Lohamei Hagetaot.
Family is the subject of Yaniv's most recent exhibit. She describes family as "one of the most dominant subjects of life," adding, "even though the subject of people in families is a universal subject, each person has their own experiences and their own views."
Yaniv's pieces portray interactions between the members of a family. Her sculptures are full of life and appear to be constantly communicating with each other. The sculptures' "body language" - the positions they are in and how close they are to each other, the way they "hold" their arms and heads - convey to us how they "feel" about each other.
"Each person who sees my sculptures will see something different. Everyone has a family, but every person in a family has their own experiences and their own views," says the artist. "My sculptures are not just cute pretty things. If that was all they were then they would be sold at a store."
"I am glad that I have the opportunity to include my opinions and views in my art, but it is important to me to leave the door open for other interpretations," says the intense and talented Israeli artist.
A graduate of Jerusalem's Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Yaniv has studied illustration, graphic design and animation. All these skills come together as she creates her unique sculptures. Her works of art were on exhibit last month at the gallery at Kibbutz Lohamei Hagetaot, and this month her newest creation will be on display in the city of Mino, in Japan. Her work has also been shown at the Bezalel Academy and at the Beit Michal Gallery in Rehovot.