ADI NES
Exhibition
Koffler Gallery at Olga Corper Gallery, 2013
This exhibition presented the first Canadian survey of the stunningly constructed and often controversial work of acclaimed Israeli photographer Adi Nes. Attesting to the artist’s role in a society fraught with conflict, his iconic images have become part of the collective visual culture beyond Israel.
Referencing art history and photojournalism, Nes’ re-staging of biblical, mythological and literary subjects proposes a critical view of the present, while seeking to uncover the essence of a universal humanism. Conversely, his examinations of the military environment, development towns and the fringes of Israeli society take on mythical dimensions, enabling a philosophical inquiry into the narratives that underlie national identity. Nes’ own sense of marginality, informed by his Kurdish-Iranian heritage, his queer identity and his experience growing up in the development town of Kiryat Gat, influence his artistic vision and provide a particular filter for the realities of his homeland.
The exhibition includes prominent works from the three main series that established Nes’ international reputation. Soldiers (1994-2000) examines a pervasive symbol of Israeli identity, challenging ingrained concepts of militarism and heroism. Nes’ dramatic compositions reveal homoerotic undertones within the dynamics of the army, dismantling typical macho representations of soldiers and highlighting their vulnerability under the looming threat of death. Stepping back to the time before military conscription, Boys (2000) explores the age of adolescence, a phase of transition in an individual’s process of self-definition. Set against the backdrop of tenement housing, the series focuses on the peripheral and the marginalized. With Biblical Stories (2004-2007), Nes re-imagines present-day incarnations of foundation myth heroes. The meticulously staged images foreground the homeless and the destitute, connecting the high narratives of cultural heritage with the harsh social reality.
Confronting the local conditions and the culturally specific, Nes ultimately addresses the common human experience under the effects of polarizing global tendencies. His perspective generates a thoughtful and subversive investigation of notions of masculinity as well as cultural and sexual identity, within the contemporary context in Israel and worldwide.
Confronting the local conditions and the culturally specific, Nes ultimately addresses the common human experience under the effects of polarizing global tendencies. His perspective generates a thoughtful and subversive investigation of notions of masculinity as well as cultural and sexual identity, within the contemporary context in Israel and worldwide.
Artist Info
Adi Nes was born in Kiryat-Gat, Israel in 1966 and now works in Tel Aviv. He has had solo shows at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco; the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus; the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego. His work is in many public collections including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Canada; The Jewish Museum, New York; the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel and The Israel Museum, Jerusalem.
