In March of this year, the Museum of Visual Arts in Uruguay presented the heart-wrenching group exhibition "La Herida más Profunda."
This exhibition, organized in the framework of International Women's Day, brought together the voices of seventeen Israeli artists who expressed through art the anguish caused by the acts of sexual and gender-based violence perpetrated in the terrorist attack of October 7, 2023.
The image that opens the catalog for this exhibition comes from Inbal Hoffman's work "The Biggest Hole," which has a deeply striking visual impact, capturing visceral pain imbued with helplessness, darkness, and cruelty.
Months after this exhibition, I decided to reach out to Inbal to learn more about her career and her way of expressing and creating through art. Personal times of waiting and reflection made it possible for this "epistolary" exchange to bear fruit in this moving interview.
Inbal, tell us about your journey in art, your searches along this way, and how you have made this creative universe your life’s passion.
I am a creative person from early childhood, it was always my passion to draw and sculpt and put things together. I have a free imagination that runs wild and i see images in my mind for as long as I remember, after school I went to study in Bezalel, my degree was in graphic design, specializing in illustration, and after few years as a self-employed illustrator I did my major in art (mfa), throughout my career I did many things, all in the visual field: I was a fashion designer, a tattoo artist, a sculpture doing mostly large site specific installations, I sculpt inflatable sculptures, I had many solo exhibitions including one in the Israel museum, and I participated in many art group shows. I tend to change my occupation every few years because I get bored once I figure out what I’m doing and how to do something to perfection. I really like to be in a constant place of learning. I like the uncertainty of not knowing and striving forward.
Your work titled “ The biggest hole”, composed of different drawings, conveys the physical pain of violence and abuse, connecting the viewer with very intense and sensitive emotions. The predominance of black, white, and red creates a powerful visual impact, simultaneously reflecting an enveloping darkness that suffocates and silences. In this regard, and considering that your work often delves into conceptual representation, what impulses drove you to create this personal "catharsis" using such a graphic and direct language?
The Hamas attack on October 7th found me in a time I was mostly tattooing, so my method of creating in that period of time was mainly drawing on my i-pad, as a tattoo artist I used a graphic language that was closer to what I used to do in my early days after finishing my BA as an illustrator, so going back to a form of illustration was an old-new passion after many years as a full time sculpture, the war broke and we all felt under attack….the social network was also a war zone with fear hate and violence, and I felt that there was no voice for the sadness….so I used the tool that was most available to me, my i-pad, and my skill as a former illustrator, and I tried to depict sadness.
In what way do you consider that the personal expression of your emotions and pain, infused into this creative process, evokes the collective unconscious and memory?
In this specific case, I think that we, the entire population of Israel, was grief stricken and lost for words in the first few weeks. But at the same time, we looked desperately for a way to express an inner loud shout, and I think that the black hole series caught somehow that collective frequency- of screaming to a bottomless pit of angst. So, after I started making them, they were widely spread online with many shares and re-shares. It is not often that I am as an artist on the same vibe with large quantities of people, because I tend to be so completely out of sync with the world on any other subject. That was surprising, and fortunately it did keep me busy for the first few months after the attack, so I kept making them and did not lose my mind.
Drawings from the serie "The Biggest Hole".
Inbal, what personal reflection, feelings and thoughts would you like to leave as a message?
In the months that had passed since I made the series, our state as a nation, as liberals and as humanists had worsen…. We are being blind by our government as to what are the aims of that war that we are in, so we are not moving towards healing but instead the hole has widened and is about to swallow us whole. So, in that regard the only message I can send is that we need to cease fire, reach a settlement, have the hostages back home and replace the government as soon as possible.
Comments