Smoke and Mirrors

"Smoke and Mirrors” - Curated by Merav Maroody

Welcome to "Smoke and Mirrors," was an immersive AI art exhibition that delves into the unsettling realm of fake news, propaganda, and its potential consequences for democracy.
The exhibit was shown at the Radialsystem Berlin as part of the ID festival
between the 11-14 of April 2024

Exhibition Overview: As you step into this cinematic fake world, your senses will be awakened by an eerie and unsettling atmosphere. At the center of the exhibit stands a mesmerizing yet ominous spectacle—the "Propaganda Machine," built by Uri Moss. This machine, shrouded in mystery and deception, symbolizes the insidious influence of fake news and propaganda on our society. This fake smoke machine emits a surreal, intoxicating mist that engulfs the room, representing the dissemination of propaganda through various channels. As the fog swirls, you will witness images, text, and videos on the screen, showcasing the fabricated narratives that have plagued our information landscape.

In the heart of the machine is the AI-generated fake news content, created by Lukas Kuhne. These carefully crafted pieces of disinformation, sewn together with real news, challenge our perceptions of truth and reality. Fake news and propaganda often aim to influence public opinion or behavior, with motivations ranging from political influence and financial gain to ideological goals. They can also be used to create a sense of fear or impending doom, manipulating the public into supporting certain policies or leaders who promise safety, distracting from other issues, rallying people around a cause, or justifying extreme measures. Moreover, the constant barrage of doomsday scenarios can lead to fear fatigue or a sense of helplessness among the public.

On the wall, three female artists process childhood memories and reflect on their past by generating fake but real feelings. Ilanit Shamia encapsulates a personal journey through family history and collective memory in a small Israeli town. Alexandra Lier merges analog photography with AI to reminisce on her childhood road trip. Merav Maroody re-creates memories of her father working at the salt factory. "Nexa," a short film by Assi Meshullam created by AI, explores the intersection of digital existence and ancient mythologies through a digital entity's perspective, challenging notions of consciousness, identity, and the dichotomy between the tangible and virtual realms.

Daphna Keenan's ambient sound installation at the exhibition, combining sonic booms with distant war sounds, creates an atmosphere of tension and anxiety.

"Smoke and Mirrors" invites you to challenge your perceptions, confront the specter of fake news, and contemplate the path forward for a more informed and resilient democracy. We look forward to your participation in this immersive experience.

*This text was generated by ChatGPT.

MILK TEETH



Stills Photography behind the scene and poster for the movie “MILK TEETH”
Based on the novel by: Helene Bukowski
Now screening at International Film Festival Rotterdam - IFFR

“Milk Teeth”

Premier at Achtung Berlin Film Festival

Cast:
Mathilde Bundschuh , Susanne Wolff, Viola Hinz, Ulrich Matthes, Lola Dockhorn, Andreas Lust, Karin Neuhäuser, Walfriede Schmitt, Andreas Lust, Ninel Skrzypczyk, Milla Skrzypczyk, Vedat Erincin, Falilou Seck, Berit Künnecke
Team:
Director: Sophia Bösch Editor: Andrea Muñoz Producer: Milena Klemke Line Producer: Kim Höver Production Design: Mona Cathleen Costume Design: Ulé Barcelos Make-Up Artist: Stefanie Gredig, Pia Karlotta Paprzik Sound: Patrick Storck 1st AD: Malte Grosche Script Continuity: Victor Leip Script: Roman Gielke and Sophia Bösch Cinematography: by Aleksandra Medianikova Steadicam & B Cam: Marc Voigt 1 AC A Cam: David Gaiser 1 AC B Cam: Dennis Kühnel 2 AC: Isabelle Vogel DIT: Boris Treffert Camera trainee: Simon Baumann Gaffer: Ronald Schwarz Best boy: Sebastian Zinburg Lighting assistant: Moritz Martin Additional lighting assistants: Max Berg, John Peters, Lennox Witt Key grip: Grip: Dimitri Jakobi Color grading: Edmond Lakon at
Production: Weydemann Bros.
In co-production with Dschoint Ventschr

Stills By Merav Maroody

Stills By Merav Maroody

Photography work - Divina Hysterika by melanie schmidli

divina hysterika is a procedural artistic work cycle about two spectacular female* phenomena of the 19th century: the theater star Sarah Bernhardt and the stars of a clinic, the hysterikas.

Fin de siècle, Paris: Sarah Bernhardt, one of the first international stars ever, idolized worldwide for her neurotic playing style, gets her inspiration from the famous neurological clinic La Salpêtrière. There, chief physician Jean-Martin Charcot puts so-called “hysterics” on display. In his popular lectures he presents his hypnotized patients and their seizures. What's more: Charcot literally stages them. and all of Paris is watching.

divina hysterika examines this insane crossover of cultural and disease history in a multimedia and interdisciplinary manner using sound, photography, visual art, performance and film.

Her website documents the different steps of the work cycle. It is a mind map and collage in one and will constantly change and grow.

The project is made possible by the scholarships #takecare, #takeheart, initial and the process funding, supported by the performing arts fund and by the Academy of the Arts with funds from the federal government's commissioner for culture and media as part of Neustart Kultur.
See for art and photography in the link
https://divinahysterika.com/

ZUZU Gallery / Contemporary Art Museum

Group exhibition in ZUZU gallery

התערוכה יצירים פלאיים היא חלק מבֻּבָּעֵמֶק: שיתוף פעולה בין גלריות עמק חפר כמחווה להונזו (דוד בן שלום), איש גבעת חיים מאוחד, מחלוצי תיאטרון הבובות בישראל. במשך חודש יתקיימו תערוכות, פעולות אמנותיות וחינוכיות בהשראת מפעל חייו של הונזו שהקים, יצר והפעיל במשך עשרות שנים את הבובטרון ונדד עימו ברחבי ישראל החל משנות ה40. בבֻּבָּעֵמֶק, משתפות פעולה: גלריה גבעת חיים איחוד, גלריה ארטורא, גלריה זוזו והמרכז-הקהילתי בגבעת חיים מאוחד. התערוכה יצירים פלאיים מתייחסת לעולם תיאטרון-הבובות דרך פריזמת האמנות הפלסטית העכשווית: בובות ואלמנטים תיאטריליים של מריונטות והתחפשות מופיעים בעבודות כחלק מהאמירה האמנותית והבובות משמשות כדוברות של רעיונות ואמירות שיש  בהם ביקורת ומסרים מעוררי דיון. לבובה יש את היכולת ליצור יחסי אמון וכנות עם הקהל ולהעביר מסרים מבלי שהצופה ירגיש נפגע. אנו מקשרים אותה לשלב הנאיבי בחיים, לילדות. לרוב, הבובה היא המפגש הראשון של ילדים עם אובייקט חיצוני, כך שכמבוגרים אנחנו מורגלים לא לפקפק בה. האמונה הבלתי מעורערת של האדם בבובה, הריתוק מהאובייקט המונפש והנרטיב שהיא מספרת, מאפשרים הזדהות עם פשטות הבעיות שלה והנאה מסיפוריה. היא מתקשרת באופן חזותי בצורה קלה וחביבה (לכאורה). היא משכנעת, מובנת לכולם, ומעוררת אופטימיות ילדותית המספקת הזדמנות לתמרן את הצופה. העדויות הקדומות ביותר לקיומן של בובות תיאטרון מתוארכות כבר מן המאה ה4 לפנה"ס ביוון העתיקה. אפלטון כינה את בובות התיאטרון כ"פלאים נשגבים" Divine Marvel ותיאר את תיאטרון-הבובות כאמנות מיצג פופולרית, את האדם כבובה המופעלת בידי ובדמות האלים, ואת מיתרי המריונטה כביטוי להשפעת התשוקות על המעשים. כך, המריונטה היא מטאפורה לאדם הנתון למניפולציה ושליטת האלים, כמו גם לאדם השולט במיתרי תשוקותיו. בובות התיאטרון ביוון העתיקה התבססו על דמויות ממחזות (בעיקר האיליאדה והאודיסאה) ועל דמויות מהפוליטיקה היוונית. הן הביעו ביקורת סאטירית על מצבים יומיומיים, חברתיים ופוליטיים ותפקדו כשופר לביטוי תכנים חתרניים. הבמה הפכה למקום מפגש ומחזות הבובות נאסרו לעתים קרובות על ידי הרשויות. יחסי בובה-אדם, בובה-קהל ובובה-ממסד לא השתנו באופן מהותי מאז יוון ועד היום. במאה ה-20, ממשלות הבינו היטב את ההשפעה הפוטנציאלית של תיאטרון הבובות. גם האמנים האוונגרדיים הבינו זאת. אמני מדינות מזרח אירופה שהושפעו מהצנזורה הקפדנית על האמנות במאה ה-,20 השתמשו בבובות כדי לדלג על ההשתקה. טקסטים חתרניים וביקורתיים שנאמרו מפי הבובות הצליחו לחמוק מצנזורים. מה שהאדם לא הורשה לאמר, הבובה אמרה במקומו. בעבודות המוצגות בתערוכה יצירים פלאיים, מופיעים שלל האלמנטים התיאטרליים השייכים לעולם הבובות, תיאטרון הבובות וההתחפשות. כל אלו, מאפשרים לגעת בנושאים משמעותיים הנחשבים לטאבו כמו גם באלו הנוגעים באספקטים רגישים מהיום יום, מהפוליטיקה  או מהפסיכולוגיה האישית והחברתית

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In the Newspaper

בסדרת הצילומים חיות פלסטיק שצולמה במקומות שונים בברלין ובסביבתה, מתמצתת ומתארת מרודי תחושות שייכות בסביבה זרה, את רגשותיה כלפי היותה מהגרת ואת החיפוש המתמיד אחר משפחה "אלטרנטיבית", הרחק ממשפחתה שלה, המרוחקת והממשית. הסדרה נוצרה לאחר שורה של אירועים בחייה של מרודי, שהובילו לתגובה פוסט טראומטית ולצורך בתקופת החלמה ארוכה. בטיול מנחם של סוף שבוע אינטימי עם חברים בפולין, רגע לפני שסערה התקרבה, ביקשה מרודי מכל 12 החברים שנסעו איתה לווילה השוממת בפולין, לחבוש מסכות חיות מפלסטיק ולהצטלם עבורה. הצילומים הפכו למעין "משפחתי ובעלי חיים אחרים", ויש בהם ביטוי לתחושות אל-ביתיות: תחושת חיבוק ומוגנות בסביבה זרה לחלוטין. החברים, כולם מהגרים בעצמם, חבשו את המסכות והפכו לקבוצה של גופים היברידיים, מוטמעים היטב בטבע הפראי והלא נגוע, משתקפים בו, ומרגישים לגמרי בנוח מאחורי המסכה. דמויות "המשפחה החדשה" של מרודי מביאות איתן מיתולוגיה, דינמיקה ופחדים חדשים משלהן. ברבות מעבודותיה, חוקרת מארודי את נקודת השינוי מ'קורבן למפלצת' ואת המעבר שאדם עושה מאמפתיה לחיה. המסכה, חסרת הביטוי הרגשי, מחביאה את הפוטנציאל להפוך לסכנה ולחשוף את החיה שנמצאת תחתיה. בהצבת "בעלי החיים" בסמיכות אחד לשני ובסביבות שונות, מסמנת מארודי את הדואליות הזו וכל

אחת מהדמויות מבטאת היבט אחר של פחדיה ותקוותיה ממערכת היחסים במשפחתה החדשה.

טקסט: רותם ריטוב

Exhibition in Rome

EBRAICA Festival


Waters to Waters – Back to Life?

Water is the source of life. From water we come. But can we ever return? This selection from Merav Maroody’s recent photographic oeuvre shows pictures that capture water, suggest its presence, or attest its absence. Her frames are ambivalent, holding an inner contradiction, posing a question: is it possible to ever go back – to life?  

Maroody catches young men jumping towards water. Their bodies, half naked, are lobbed in the air, in anticipation of the splash that comes next. The camera freezes an Heraclitean moment, which can never be re-lived: we could not jump in the same rivers. Yet we see the wish to return to waters in the synthetic turquoise pools her lense finds, surrounded by green grass and grey skies, or on a dusty rooftop balcony. The water-drive reaches an absurdity, when three men sit in a pool, integrated in a boat that floats in the canal. A tension between artificial and natural builds up in the pictures, between lakes and seas and pools made of plastic. Maroody detects a desire for an oasis in the form of palm trees, in another balcony decorating an urban landscape, just above a McDonalds sign. As a flat wall decoration next to the heating, a palm tree admits its own fiction, as does a blue plastic shell on a suburban gate. Plastic, as a container, isolates water, it forms life’s border. It is dry, it is dead. Drier than the desert, or the blue smoke that looks like a waterfall in a green forest. Maroody shows us blue skies, as it reflects on a window. A frame – of anticipation.

Text by
Michal B. Ron                  


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Musrara Mix Festival

The MusraraMix Festival is an international multidisciplinary event that takes place in the borderline neighborhood of Musrara, initiated and produced by Musrara, the Naggar School of Art and Society. The festival is a hub of artistic and social happenings, embodying the political and cultural essence of Jerusalem and Israel. Every year the festival is based around one theme. The 20th year of the festival is the year of Transfigure.

https://www.musraramixfesthttp

Web site & GIF Animation design by the talented Tal Stern

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Transfigure

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Transfigure

Beyond Sex

Super exited about the article I wrote and was and published at krautreporter magazine

The Text in English
I have recently read an article written by Marlen, a sex worker who had realized that in the past
years more and more of her clients are female. In fact, she claims in the article, 40% of her
current clients are female clients. This figure made me curious and eager to find out how would
a session, a paid sex session between two women would look like. I contacted Marlen who
invited me to take photos of one of her clients, during a session which later on turned out into a
bizarre triangle of a prostitute, a nurse, and a photographer.
Lena ( fake name ) is a nurse working with the elderly at a hospital for Alzheimer’s and
dementia patients. She spends her days taking care of others in one of the most demanding
and mentally tasking jobs in the field. Once a month, she travels to Berlin to meet Marlen for a
few hours of getting taken care for.
In my eyes, and moreover after experiencing through my lens how Marlen works, it would be an
oversimplification to describe a work as being a prostitute. What she does with her clients is
something I would rather call “ Beyond Sex”

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The night before the arranged meeting of the three of us I was panicking. This was completely
new territory for me, as a photographer, and I felt that many things could go wrong. For start, I
have never been in a room where other people were engaged in sexual activity, while I am a
side observer. What if my embarrassment would be noticeable and kill the atmosphere? What if
the existence of a big camera in the room will make the client feel uncomfortable? The fears
kept cramping up. And there is the imagination. My brain had to constantly fight the need to
fantasize and create expectations from the upcoming event. Eventually, nothing had prepared
me for what would happen the next day, and it was surpassing anything I could have imagined
ahead.
The meeting took place in Marlene’s dedicated room. It had many metal tools and all kind of
accessories required for the session. There was a bit of intimidation accompanying these
professional-looking devices that seemed so distanced from the basic idea of sex as an
encounter between two bodies.



The session started with Marlen and Lena sitting together and sharing what has been going on
in their lives since their last meeting. It was a very casual work between two friends who talked
about their families, work, and pains. I was listening and taking pictures from the side,
completely being ignored by the two women in the room. At some point, Lena turned to me and
said that in fact, she would usually dislike pictures of herself. This remark made me feel more
comfortable in the situation as if I was granted special and rare access to this woman’s secret
pleasure world.

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Marlen has been working as a sex worker for the past 10 years and had become, through many
hours of training, an expert in the various mediums and techniques she uses with her clients, of
which domination is the main field of expertise. She sure knows her way around ropes, wipes,
and other specific tools. And then there was me, with my own cumbersome tools such as
lighting, tripod, and lenses. While I was figuring out how to photograph the scene without
interrupting too much, and without using flashes that will ruin the session, Marlen was
diagnosing Lena with a series of questions regarding her needs for the session.
Having treated Lena in the past she knew about her need for specific pains, through the use of
ropes, and that she usually needs to go through some steps in order to come. Every client’s
session is unique in that sense, and no session looks like the other one. This session was about
Lena’s unique body needs and it was communicated between her and Marlen in a very open way.

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Walking around and taking pictures during the session, I felt surprisingly comfortable.
Everything felt safe and warm, and the two other women in the room switched between various
phases of tying up, to hugging, and embracing and sometimes they were talking or laughing,
with a gradual deeper and deeper work into the body and into the complete release of anything
that is held back or tight.
During these 3 hours, I saw Lena transforming from the assertive tough, hard-working nurse,
into a doll on a string, not moving a single muscle by herself, and being completely manipulated
and shaped in the strong and skilful hands of Marlen.
There were a few scary moments during these fascinating hours where I almost had to
intervene. One of those moments was happening after Lena’s hand turned purple from the
over-tightening of the ropes around her wrist. I stopped myself, trusting the experience of
Marlen and her expertise. Later on, Lena explained to me the medical process that causes this
phenomenon, and why it is completely safe.

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When the therapy session was over, the three of us sat down and talked about it. I showed
Lena the photos I took and saw a huge smile on her face. Having been blindfolded and going
through this intensive bodywork and then seeing it through photos was a strong experience for
her and she was happy that the photos were taken. She said that while being deep into the
session she had completely forgotten about my existence in the room.

I left Marlen’s studio completely overwhelmed and my head was overflowing with images and feelings about what I have just experienced. There was something magical about it that I couldn’t put in words, and at the same time, I wanted to share it with everyone I know. When I finally showed the pictures to some of my friends, I was surprised by how difficult it was for them to even look at the pictures. Something about the photos was harsh and didn’t reflect at all the comfortable feeling I had while being there. 

Or was it my friends that were too closed up to see the beauty in the interaction that was depicted in the pictures. My male friends, specifically, had to turn their heads away from them, as if it was from a strange world they didn’t belong in. My female friends kept saying how brave Lena must be for exposing her body in such a way, completely ignoring the sexually fulfilled body that was shown in the pictures. 


Watching Marlene get dressed after working hard for 3 hours of pleasuring and fulfilling her client’s needs, I saw her body shining from sweat and as she was folding and arranging her equipment I thought that she is a nurse as well, taking care of tired bodies and feeding them with such needed touch, intimacy, and attention. If we are willing to pay for someone to talk to about our feelings and thoughts, why should we feel shame for paying someone to touch us? I don’t have an answer for that, but I know that I have seen something that is beyond just sex.


Balcony State Article

FIVE DEATH SCENES

This video artwork resulted from a collaboration between the artists: Peleg Dishon, Ilan Yona and myself.
Sound and Edit by Daphna Kennan

The Video was selected to be shown in Shorty Week Film Festival at Cádiz, Spain

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Poster

Poster


Each Scene of the video consist of tree elements: white paper pop-up booklet, hands wearing white gloves that operate the booklet, and images screened on them.


The work follows an enigmatic narrative based on a clinical phenomenon called Locked-in syndrome (LIS)  in which a patient is aware but cannot move or communicate verbally due to complete paralysis of nearly all voluntary muscles in the body except for vertical eye movements and blinking. This phenomenon is manifested in the video through the screened images trapped in the pop-up (the physical body), without the ability to communicate. 

The hands operating the pop-up represent the outside world. Each scene in the video has its pattern of actions and rhythm, for instance a continuous never-ending movement to one direction or a monotonous repetition of the same movement. Taken from different worlds (The anatomy of the human body, architecture film and photography), the images of the work fashion an amalgam stylistically close to Surrealist cinema.

Some photos from the production

PHOTO IS:REAL Festival Impressions

The International Photography Festival, Israel’s largest photography event, This year’s focused on the theme of Fantasy with over 1000 submissions from artists in 60 countries.
Was a great honour for me to be selected.

The exhibition was beautiful and intense, located at the Azrieli Sarona building in Tel Aviv.

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In an artist talk on the theme “Between Dreams and Reality, Comedy and Tragedy” with the Artist Robert Rutöd from Austria, I had a chance to talk about my work and motivations.
Humour is a big part of my photography and the lecture was a great opportunity to talk about it in that context.

Artist talk at PHOTO IS:RAEL with Robert Rutöd

Artist talk at PHOTO IS:RAEL with Robert Rutöd

I had the chance to talk to the many visitors to the exhibition and to give a tour to a group of high school teens who came from Haifa on a school bus to see photography.

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Mostly I was exited to see the Plastic Animals presented in a big format at the middle of Tel Aviv

Plastic Animals at Azrieli Sarona

Plastic Animals at Azrieli Sarona

The exhibition catalog

The exhibition catalog

PHOTO IS:REAL

Open call winner of the International Photography festival PHOTO IS:REAL
My photo serious “Plastic Animals”

The International Photo Festival, Israel's largest photo event, took place for the seventh time this year in Tel Aviv. It presented 40 exhibitions on topics such as Photography Pioneers on the first female photographers in Israel

Curator Maya Anner

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