In the Heart of the Forest
A duo exhibition by Noa Sheizaf and Julie Avisar
Curator: Dr. Revital Michali
10.3.2025 - 19.4.2025
Julie Avisar and Noa Sheizaf’s duo exhibition leads us into the very heart of the forest, a vulnerable place where the seeds of renewal lie deep. The artists' engagement with the woods is neither mystical nor occult. It is not symbolic of a collective psychological subconscious, as depicted in children's fairy tales, nor does it stem from a romantic view of the forest as epitomizing the sublime beauty of nature. Avisar and Sheizaf document and photograph a tangible, concrete forest. This is mostly close to home in the town of Katzir in Wadi Ara, where they both live, in the Amir Nature Reserve that surrounds the town. Their lives are shaped by consistent observation of the forest, which, since October 7, has been witness to the fracture and devastation unfolding in Israel, marked by the destruction wrought by humans who, paradoxically, wound the very land over which they fight.
During the prolonged battles, it seemed at times as though the heart of the forest was obliterated and could never recover. Yet the forest, as part of nature, although impaired by humanity, does not yield to it or to the paths it tries to impose. Disintegration brings renewal: in a fire the forest sheds layers like a snakeskin. The tree canopies burn, as do layers of fallen leaves on the ground. The spent vegetation reveals the soil, letting the sunlight in and fostering new growth.
After the first rains, the seeds that the woods had secreted in its midst for decades begin to sprout. The pine nuts that fire locked within cones are released into the soil and the forest is reborn. Fracture and destruction alongside a sense of belonging in a place with the capacity for recovery and resurrection.
The works of art resonate simultaneous feelings of disintegration and growth. Avisar and Sheizaf’s exhibition is a collaborative installation juxtaposing drawings and photographs of forests and trees, printed and drawn in mixed technique on paper and wood. The installation occupies most of the gallery space (floor, walls, ceiling, and windows), immersing the visitor in an evocative space akin to entering the heart of the forest.
In her laborious multi-layered drawings, Julie Avisar breathes life into every detail, fiber and glimmer of light, delving deep into the intricate texture of the woods, trees, vegetation and flowers. Her drawings, whether on large wooden panels or small sheets of paper, offer us an intimate view of the forest and convey a secretive sense of affinity between her and her subject matter. As an immigrant to Israel at age 25, Avisar is between languages: English no longer feels like a mother tongue, but she is not entirely at home with Hebrew. Depicting trees is her way to learn and assimilate the place and space in which she lives. The act of drawing connects her to the trees and the soil, reinforcing her sense of belonging.
Noa Sheizaf observes the forest from an outside stance, transforming it through a process of abstraction. The photographs in the current exhibition are from the woods near her home and from the Biriya forest (in the lower Galilee) that she visited within days of the ceasefire with Lebanon. Her images depict parts of the forest that are immolated, the soil covered with white ash, while other areas flourish as if there was never a war. Sheizaf photographs the forest from a distant, zoomed-out perspective, sometimes in motion, capturing bright, almost overexposed images of the damaged woods. The images are printed on parchment paper and suspended from the gallery walls in layers, covering the windows, or crumpled into balls, documenting the forest via the brittle seam between combustion and recovery.
Avisar’s drawing and Sheizaf’s photography connect as acts of documentation that are also therapeutic. The delicate wall painting, created collaboratively by the artists, is based on Sheizaf's photographs. As such, it bridges documentation of past events with the here and now. Painstaking and meticulous drawing and daily photography of the woods serve both to acknowledge the rupture and to express faith in the forest's ability to renew and rehabilitate itself and, by proxy, to trust our capacity as human beings to grow from adversity.
When entering the forest that is transplanted into the gallery space, one can feel fleeting Zen moments of respite and contemplation. Sheizaf’s reflective well and Avisar’s suspended tree canopy invite viewers to pause in the present moment, immerse themselves in the imagery of pinecones floating in the well, or enjoy the warmth of sun rays caressing the treetops. Despite the devastating disaster, the sun still rises, trees grow upwards and leaves bloom. Gradually we too can return to our daily routines, to the healing rhythm of normalcy.
About the artists and curator
Julie Avisar is an artist and art teacher whose art medium is drawing. Born in England, she immigrated to Israel in 1995. She holds a B.A. in Interior Architecture from the Chelsea School of Art, London. Avisar has participated in group exhibitions in Israel, England, and the United States. Avisar lives and creates in Katzir in the Wadi Ara region.
Noa Sheizaf is an artist and curator who works in photography, video, and installation. She holds a B.A. in Fine Arts and Archaeology and an M.A. in Marine Archaeology, both from the University of Haifa. She studied photography at the WIZO Academic Center in Haifa and is a graduate of the Curating and Visual Thinking program at the Kibbutzim College of Education. Sheizaf has exhibited solo exhibitions in Israel and participated in group exhibitions in Israel and Europe. Sheizaf lives and creates in Katzir in the Wadi Ara region.
Dr. Revital Michali is a researcher, independent art curator, dramaturgist and performance artist living and working in Tel Aviv-Jaffa (currently in Amsterdam). Michali holds a Ph.D. in Visual Arts from Tel Aviv University. Her writing and artistic practice focus on female identity, motherhood, and their connection to public spaces. She has curated and produced art exhibitions and events in Tel Aviv, Berlin, and the USA. Michali has been a member of the Alfred Institute for Art and Culture since 2021.