Illustration week – On The Verge

The fifth edition of Illustration Week in Tel Aviv brings the question of “what is illustration?” front and center. Many of the exhibitions forming this city happening attempt to break the traditional boundaries and re-calibrate our definitions.

Founder of Illustration Week, Yuval Saar (friend and colleague), says the actual question and the quest it brings with it are far more important than any answer. However, as a rule, Saar asserts that the artist’s intention is the guiding line and sets it apart from graphic design, architecture, jewelry making, textile art, sculpture or any other form of art. Moreover, illustrations are usually associated with trivial and humoristic subjects, while here one might find exhibitions tackling issues of trauma and distress. Artists working on these non-defined boundaries are the ones that fascinated me the most.

In “Family Gathering” artists Amit Trainin, Itzik Rennert and Yana Bukler dealt with their own family’s history, focusing on their most painful periods. When entering Trainin’s space one has to stop for a moment to marvel the hand painted scenery under the Ottoman arches. He painted his Kibbutz buildings under heavy snow, which is not characteristic but represents a precious childhood memory. On the floor there are pillows arranged with illustrations and a few words, which look from a far like newspaper cartoons. Looking closely, these are all traumatizing sentences Trainin and his peers used to hear from their care takers in the Kibbutz, when the prevailing custom was for all kids to sleep together, separate from their parents.

Left to right: If you run we'll lock you in the room; At