For many artists in Israel, creating a new piece of work post Hamas’s October 7 massacre has been difficult. For those with mental and physical disabilities, it was excruciating – but necessary.
Jaffa’s Art Salon Gallery opened a new exhibit with the works of artists from two organizations that support people with special needs and mental difficulties. With pieces from 25 artists, the modest, well-lit gallery was filled with oil and acrylic on canvas, drawings, mixed media, sculptures and even digital media pieces. Kenafayim (wings) made its space in the gallery available to host all the art from its community with six paintings coming from Pinot Igul (round corners). Both organizations work to promote art made by those with disabilities. While Kenafayim specializes in mental difficulties and trauma, Pinot Igul works with those who have physical disabilities or those who are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Jei Damien works as Kenafayim’s Art Gallery Manager and curator. The artists have a workspace behind the showroom where they can freely create. She set a broad theme for this exhibit, which is the first one to show since October 7: “‘What if’? – Alternative Checking.” The concept was meant to allow artists to fly with ideas, giving them the feeling that anything was possible.
Haim Hananel, a prominent artist under Kenafayim’s wings, highlighted a story-board type piece for the exhibit. He suffered two car accidents (which caused long-term orthopedic troubles) as well as traumatic family events that brought him to eventually experience clinical depression and PTSD. Inspired by his partner in life, Jei Damien, whom he met after joining the Kenafayim artist group in Jaffa, Hananel has taken on veganism. His stance on animal rights has only strengthened since the October 7 massacre.
“The animals and fruits that we enjoy… we throw them to the garbage. We are depleting nature; we need to keep it – this is the bottom line,” Hananel said. “In 20 years, things are going to vanish.”
HANANEL TOLD The Jerusalem Post that world peace will only begin once people begin treating animals as their equals, saying that people pretend to respect animals in one moment but then go to a restaurant to eat them in another.
He released a large piece of work, which began as a storyboard on his sketchbook. The events of October 7 inspired his art. It took him four months to find the strength to pick up a pencil and begin. Sometimes he can go six months without making any art, he says, and then in one day he can begin and end with work on seven canvases.
“It’s like a storm,” Hananel explained of his art work. “From history we know… everyone was a little bit crazy. Like Van Gogh. It [my mental disability] doesn’t take a big place in my life. But when I came here, it was lifesaving.”
Damien’s large canvas shows six rows and four columns of a story about animal abuse with words in English written above the corresponding images. It reads:
“Stop, think, consider, be empathetic, be merciful, start changing, start taking responsibility, listen to their hearts, take care of them, think what if we were equal, equal rights for all to live, advanced universe, free of unnecessary hatred, look in the mirror, it’s not too late to change, we can make the world a safer place, the first thing is to stop killing animals, stop thinking we are above everyone else, take a deep breath, close your eyes, now you’re ready; It’s time to start.”
The storyboard was done with oil paints on canvas, beginning with an image of a person kicking a cat, highlighting two cows snuggling (Hananel says cows’ eyes seem so human) and finishing with what appears to be a planet hung from a marionette.
After finding Kenafayim and making it through the rounds of reviews needed for acceptance, Hananel grew and became an art teacher for others. Today he runs courses and spends his life as a full-time artist.
“Our artists have been in different situations since October 7,” gallery curator Damien said. “There were those who shut themselves off, there were those who could not leave the screens and there were those who chose to pick up brush and canvas and reflect the difficulty and challenges they are facing, precisely these days.”
BOSMAT NIRON, another artist, said she was making a big step by displaying two pieces of art. One, a sculpture of a hug, was created out of her need to heal all of humanity during what she calls a time of crisis, crime and hate. And hanging on the wall above is a painting that she says shows off the violence people exhibit.
The artist recently lost her father and says the painting is part of her understanding of culture and being able to pass on a feeling of morality and hope. Speaking with the Post just before the Sabbath, Niron says she has a Shabbat wish.
“I hope this Saturday will bring hugs and love and we will forget – if ever possible – a world before... not the Holocaust 1 or 2. So let’s get together in a big hug and pray for Shabbat and peace for everyone.”
Eldad Shoshtari is the founding director of Pinot Igul. He represents artists with special needs and focuses on selling their works so that they can work in the arts full-time. When looking for someone to take on the role of curator for his organization, he found Damien, who was happy to partner with him for the exhibit. They plan on working together more in the future.
Shoshtari, who lives a robust life as a non-profit business owner and learned artist, deals with Cerebral Palsy. He says he understands the challenges that people with special needs face and hopes to get more individuals the recognition they deserve.
“What’s my emotion? Excited, nervous, a little scared… and eager to see where we go,” Shoshtari told the Post. “We are creating a family and community where we are connecting through art. I’m excited to see how we’ll all improve and expand our community.”
Thoughts on opening day
AFTER PERUSING the exhibition, the Post stopped a few people to ask their opinion of the opening-day experience.
Oded Shtahl and his wife were not only there to support Oded’s brother, who was a featured artist in the show, but they were actively engaging with the rest of the gallery as well.
“How people find strength and creativity and joy in life even in difficult situations, that are difficult for us to understand and judge: I find this quite inspiring,” Shtahl said. “I would like bigger exposure, but not on behalf of the disability – on behalf of the quality.”
His wife called the show a “window into the soul” for which she, too, was inspired.
A woman by the name of Krystya said she was able to have a conversation with one of the artists. He told her his painting was a beautiful sunset. She had seen a dark, frightening web that was meant to hide someone or something in the scene.
“Great artists are not necessarily the regular eaters of bread,” Krystya suggested. “They feel and discover many things that are not for us. Maybe because of that it’s so beautiful.”
The latest Kenafayim / Pinot Igul joint art exhibit opened in Jaffa Friday April 5 and will continue to be open indefinitely on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4-7 p.m. as well as Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Art Salon Gallery, 11 Elazar Ben Azaria Street.