“TIME MACHINE (NO MAN LAND)”ELIEZER SONNENSCHEIN  

 

Eliezer Sonnenschein, Haifa 1967, presents for the first time in Spain a set of his most recent work, a series of 12 photographs taken in 2008 entitled Time Machine {no man land}.

Time Machine {no man land} starts from the following formula: Nature = universe.

The truth of the universe is that the universe is inseparably linked to humans and shaped by their actions. Scientific advances have come to this same conclusion. Quantum physics clearly concludes that this issue is somehow related to consciousness and mind. This means that the truth of the universe could only be understood through a permanent observation of the phenomena that compose it. And, there is nothing permanent! So… if nature is influenced by forces that are not matter, how can my thoughts influence it?1

Graduated in 1994 from the Graphic Design Department of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. Eliezer Sonnenschein began his artistic career by smuggling some of his objects into exhibitions and museums. Provocative and critical of the current art system and the world political situation, his most emblematic works are those actions carried out from 1996, the moment in which his particular assault on the art world began and which finally led to his participation in the 2001 Venice Biennale.

 

His work moves between the aesthetics of the video game and the graphic arts, using without complexes and in an ironic and aggressive way the language of the large Western corporations as a way of putting This same year Sonnenschein began to "infiltrate" objects in museums. and exhibitions. These objects were seen as provocations and were rejected in various exhibitions such as “Separate Worlds” at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art or “Anxiety” at the Ramat-Gan Museum of Israeli Art.

In 1996 Sonnenschein introduced one of his works to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art's “Virtual Reality” exhibition and was invited to join as an official participant in the exhibition. Since then, Sonnenschein has presented his work in numerous venues in Israel and the world, as shown by his participation in the edition of the Venice Biennale.

A look at his work from the beginning to the "Port" project, work presented at the Biennale, gives an account of this unique artist, who has come to the art world in response to a great need, with a mature and defined perspective. He uses a palette of basic colors typical of del graphic art (mainly red, white and black) as well as logos and symbols of commercial brands. Su world of iconic brand names is inventive, futuristic and technological but at the same time “primitive”, fierce and impulsive.

 

In its early days, Sonnenschein created a fictional international Internet television channel called “Channel A,” which included an arsenal of weapons and almost robotic figures in a violent environment. Today Sonnenschein maps, not without humor, the hierarchies and vicissitudes of the art world (the road to success, the "artistic institution" itself, and the "great money machine.") Sonnenschein exposes the hypocrisy, the abuse and emptiness of this world.

In a story Sonnenschein wrote, he describes a competition between two artists. This competition is supported by an Internet company whose advertisers believe that the competition will contribute beneficially to the image of the company and generate great possibilities for it. Sure enough, the competition gets a lot of attention and press, but the result is nothingness reflected in an empty studio and symbolic murder.

Whether the “anti-institution” image that he has built for himself is a fiction or not, the truth is that Sonnenschein is very careful to keep his distance and sobriety from the art world.