Beit Guvrin cave transforms into first-of-its-kind art installation
Italian contemporary artist Ivo Bisignano is showing his first solo exhibition, “Human Forms,” in the Southern Cave, one of the many caves located in the Beit Guvrin National Park.
By SHARON FEIEREISENTop: ’HUMAN FORMS’ serves as a prime example of how public art can be exhibited in national parks and public spaces to allow for social distancing(photo credit: SHAI EPSTEIN)
Located not far from Jerusalem, the Southern Cave in the Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park is often overlooked – and for good reason. Part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has been closed for more than two decades and only recently reopened after extensive renovation – and it sure opened with a bang.Italian contemporary artist Ivo Bisignano is showing his first solo exhibition, “Human Forms,” in the Southern Cave, one of the many caves located in the Beit Guvrin National Park. The Southern Cave is a giant cave with many crevasses and areas with 25-meter-high ceilings.The man-made Beit Guvrin caves date as far back as the First Temple Period (1000–586 BCE) and they served as chalk quarries during the Byzantine and early Muslim periods, providing building materials for cities and roads on the coastal plain.“Human Forms” serves as a prime example of how public art can be exhibited in National Parks and public spaces to allow for social distancing – without an ounce of sacrifice.The art show is based around Bisignano’s wooden sculptures of human forms, as well as visual artworks and hand-drawn animations that span his decades-long career. The installation includes seven sculptures and five video art projections making for a remarkable medley of ancient and modern digital.“I wanted to install “Human Forms” in the incredible Southern Cave at Beit Guvrin in order to establish a temporary home for the work within a historic and archaeological, historical and archaic context,” said Bisignano. “In this case, the ‘museum’ is the site itself.” The artist goes on to note that with his imagination he transferred a bit of Paris, a bit of London, and a bit of Milan to the site, transforming the vision of the exhibition into a theatrical experience with the help of light designer Felice Ross.One thing Bisignano hopes that people take away from his solo exhibit is to start experiencing nature itself again.“The cave has been transformed into a natural museum and this means that we need to feed our vision perhaps by going outside the box, outside the social networks and many other traps that block our points of view.”While Bisignano’s origins may be in Italy, his connections to Israel run deep.“My story with Israel began five years ago when I met the person with whom I share my life, Alex Meitlis. I fell in love and from Milan I moved to Tel Aviv, and for the last five years I have been traveling between London, Milan, and Tel Aviv. I was born and raised in Sicily where the culture and the landscapes are very close to Israel and the passion for food and the love for art are similar.”The Israeli art scene is complex and interesting with clear messages, according to Bisignano.“I still remember the 1970s film Dove Vai in Vacanza? in which I was struck by the sculpture of Menashe Kadishman. I’m also interested in and study artists Aram Gershuni, Raffi Lavie and Ido Barel.”So, what’s next for the artist? He hopes to take his solo show around the world from one UNESCO World Heritage site to another.“In each site, I wish to show through my work the possibilities of human forms in nature. I wish that my work will erase the borders between human and nature.”The Human Forms exhibition runs through November 2020 and is accompanied by texts from creative luminaries including Robert C. Morgan, Sir Peter Cook and Yotam Ottolenghi. Hours of the show are according to hours of the park and tickets must be purchased in advance at parks.org.il.
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