Thoughts about the sublime at the end of 2021

Conversation with: Maya Attoun, Dr. Ofri Ilani, Dr. Oded Wolkstein, Nir Shauloff and Karmit Galili.
The preoccupation with the “sublime”, the amorphous relationship between man and the universe, which contains within it the beautiful and the threatening, the perceived and the impossible to perceive, is at the heart of the exhibition Solar Mountains & Broken Hearts. It is part of the creation and presence of the objects and drawings that Attoun created for the exhibition, and embedded in their arrangement in the space. It accompanies Attoun’s many years of interest with the Romantic and Gothic culture and its connection to contemporary popular culture, and the questions that arise in the exhibition regarding the relationship between nature and culture.
With the help of the participants we will examine the way in which the Romantic and Neo-Gothic thought has accompanied us to this day, and specifically how it conjured up the Romantic “sublime” as part of the new ecological thought.

Maya Attoun is a multidisciplinary artist, engaging in a dialogue between thought processes, intuited gestures, materials and images. Her work encompasses a variety of media that includes murals, drawings, prints, sculptural objects, ready-mades and sound. Through these she reflects on modernity, history of popular culture, and the intersection of myth, narrative and science.

Dr. Ofri Ilani is a historian and journalist, dealing with the history of ideas and the ecological thought. Writes the column “Under the Sun” in Haaretz newspaper. 

Dr. Oded Wolkstein is a translator, editor and writes about literature. Researches the Gothic tradition and its affiliations with the sublime. His latest book, Academy for Babies, was published by Dvir publication.

Nir Shauloff is a theatre-maker and performance artist. His work spans various practices in the media of video, sound, text, and research. For the exhibition he co-created the play “I, Mountain” with Maya Attoun.

Karmit Galili General Manager of Magasin III Jaffa and a contemporary art curator.