Wheat, one of the most iconic agricultural crops in the world, originated in the Middle East.  From 10,000 BC the territory of current-day Israel has been home to thousands of genetically diverse varieties of wheat with stable yields, dynamic adaptability to environmental conditions and rich biological diversity.

The installation “Goren”, done in collaboration with the Weizmann Institute and the Volcani Center in Israel, relates to some of these wheat varieties – all on the brink of extinction – having been replaced throughout the 20th century by a handful of varieties cultivated for high yield, uniformity and ability to interface with agricultural inputs. “Goren” aims to provide a glimpse into the conservation efforts underway to preserve this valuable resource. Showing in public this important building block of humanity’s history.

Wheat installation was possible thanks to the kind support of:

Wheat suppliers-

Mr. Daisuke Sasaki, KIBOU FARM （Nakashibetsu, Hokkaido)

Mr. Masaya Yano,  Axis Innovations (Sapporo, Hokkaido)

Mr. Takayuki Azuma, Azuma Kogyo (Yuni, Yubarigun, Hokkaido)  

Cooperation-

Mr. Daizo Arai, ALIVE　(Minamisoma, Fukushima)

Israel is a country with many culinary traditions, but typical Israeli cuisine is very hard to define. Through time, local ingredients were replaced by international, modern flavors.

Yet, research into local culinary history re-surfaces thousands of recipes, which dates back 2000 years. One of the most common techniques used in those was the salting preservation technique. Inspired by it, an actual archaeological site is created, made of 5 tons of salt. In its walls, local food is buried, Cured during the exhibition. 

The crowd is welcome to wander through a gleaming white salt site, that preserves local cultures and traditions. Instead of telling history in words, the audience will experience it with all the senses.

The first garden was the Garden of Eden, located, according to many traditions, in the East, where the sun rises. It is a closed garden – magical and unattainable. Yet, the desire to return to it gave birth to many gardens, from ancient Persian times until today, striving to represent the cosmic order of heaven and earth. 

Twelve white columns, which do not reveal their contents, form a new kind of garden – a garden of tales. Each of them holds a story of a local Israeli flower. Their entrance gate allows only one person to peek. He becomes the sole visitor in the garden, while at the same time remains outside of it.

In collaboration with Stratasys

A series of manipulated cow skulls, some bone, others 3D-printed. The works play on what the skulls propose as a Readymades -manufactured products of the post-natural kind.

The 3D-printed skulls are sectioned into threes along with a dovetail connector in a way that allows the reassembly of different cow skull parts into various wholes. These works are in collaboration with, and part of, Stratasys’s “New Ancient” collection.

The pieces in this series were made of sand and flour, and baked in a domestic oven. Their
creation was motivated by the desire to explore a simpler world, which is devoid of the
numerous possibilities offered by contemporary technology. For this project, Talia chose to work
with materials and techniques that are considered basic in the modern world. She was inspired
by communities in desert climates, which make use of available raw materials to produce
everyday objects. The result is a series composed of unique individual containers.

(A collaboration between the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design and the School of Computer Science at the Hebrew University)

Crafted Technology refers to the history of traditional smocking embroidery, analysing its constructive, morphological and textural characteristics and offers a perspective on smocking as a primitive algorithm through which a two dimensional plane can be turned into an object. Through contemporary technology and parametric planning, the project attempts to revive and enhance the original characteristics of embroidery and turn it into a practical three-dimensional object of diverse textures and configurations.

The Common Thread Project, the result of a year-long research conducted by algorithm developer Itay Blumenthal and designer Amir Zobel, shines a light on mostly unseen faces of those in charge of maintaining the seemingly uninterrupted nature of unique gardens in Jerusalem and in Japan. Using a hacked CNC machine and a uniquely developed algorithm, one line of thread is weaved around 471 nails embedded in a circular wooden frame, resulting in art and craft which combines algorithmics, digital fabrication and methods of hacking and making.

With the kind participation of:

Mr. Sentaro Mitsui

Mr. Hideo Danboku

Mr. Masatoshi Nakamura

The lighting fixtures represent a meeting which is complementary – between old and new technologies. the stiffness of the metal alongside the softness of the light passing through the 3d printed parts, made with organic pattern designs.

This work was created as part of “The Matchmaker” project, initiated by Jerusalem Design Week and curated by Daniel Nahmias, which since 2018 brings together contemporary designers and traditional craftspeople to create new works which are exposed during Jerusalem Design Week.

Fawah is a series of scented home objects that distills fragrant smells through the indoor environment. The products were born from a continuous collaboration between a Jerusalem based designer and the Arab Blind Association Workshop located at the holly Via Dolorosa Street in the Old City of Jerusalem. Naturally, the series of fragrance distillers carry within them the spirit of the workshop; an experience designed for both people who can see and for those who cannot.

This work was created as part of “The Matchmaker” project, initiated by Jerusalem Design Week and curated by Daniel Nahmias, which since 2018 brings together contemporary designers and traditional craftspeople to create new works which are exposed during Jerusalem Design Week.

This project, inspired by a bedtime story of a bird and three fish told to the designer and brothers by his mother, resulted in four objects, representing the images of the story. Presented here is one of those objects – a rocking horse made of bamboo and straw.

This work was created as part of “The Matchmaker” project, initiated by Jerusalem Design Week and curated by Daniel Nahmias, which since 2018 brings together contemporary designers and traditional craftspeople to create new works which are exposed during Jerusalem Design Week.

“Eat Culture” has a simple sequential concept – Arabs eat nuts, nuts comes from wood, wood turns into musical instruments that plays culture, thus Arabs eat culture.
The project is a collection of bags made of wooden Arab musical instruments and Syrian silk fabrics, that was designed to take the shape of nuts.

This work was created as part of “The Matchmaker” project, initiated by Jerusalem Design Week and curated by Daniel Nahmias, which since 2018 brings together contemporary designers and traditional craftspeople to create new works which are exposed during Jerusalem Design Week.

The language of the vessels on show is based on the relationships between objects and the human, their aesthetics inspired by the history and culture of the mediterranean design philosophy, looking at nature as material, color and shape, in conjunction with objects of function. The pink – natural, light, soft, warm – and the form – inspired by Middle Eastern weather, light, archeology and landscape – are produced in a traditional artisanry and all are hand made in Tel Aviv, Israel.

An ongoing collaboration between the cutting-edge technology of Amana / Figlab and Jerusalem Design Week. Following the initial collaboration “Drawn by Drone” that took place during Jerusalem design week in June 2019, its second stage is now shown in Tokyo. This time the Figlab programmers created a unique E-INK interpretation of four design works – 3 works of Israeli designers presented at JDW and a new interpretation of Drawn by Drone.

The works are: ‘100 meter stories’ by Tamara Efrat, Raphael Pluvinage & Marion Pinaffo; ‘Shany Abdullah Naji’ by Shany Dvora; and ‘This is not a carpet’ by Adi Yair and Shlomit Ya’acov (Majadra Eyes).

“Shany Abdallah Naji” Shany Dvora

“This is not a Carpet” Shlomit Yaacov  and Adi Yair

“DrawnByDrone”  Toru Yokoyama(FIGLAB)

“100 Meters stories”  Tamara Anna Efrat and studio Pinaffo Pluvinage