The Constant Variable
Tova Eldad
Curator: Yair Barack
"He who knows the constant is in all things.
He who is in all things is impartial.
He who is impartial is king.
He who is king is heaven.
He who is heaven is the way."
Lao Tzu, from the Tao Te Ching
At the heart of the exhibition "The Constant Variable" are vividly colored, rich, and detailed paintings created in Acrylic on parchment paper. This transparent medium allows a simultaneous glimpse into the visible and the implied worlds.
The images in the works draw inspiration from a wide range of sources, including ceremonial masks and prehistoric sculptures, archaeological and architectural motifs, as well as elements of living nature and vegetation. Some of them refer to findings in which fragments of the past are revealed one after another, and some evoke associations with forgotten rituals and cultures that have spanned continents. This creates a polyphonic visual language—a kind of "polyphony of images"—in which cultures from ancient China, pre-Columbian America, the classical Middle East, and traditional Africa meet on the same transparent surface.
The artist weaves her influences not only as historical markers, but also as a starting point for a personal dialogue with the present. The intense colors rattle the viewer amongst layers of memory, imagination, and historical knowledge, offering a glimpse into a world where there is no clear line between what was, what is, and what will be.
The exhibition's title, "The Constant Variable," echoes the tension between the dynamic and the static—between the human need to hold on to a stable identity and the recognition that the world is in constant motion. The paintings serve as windows into a space where history, myth, and the present intertwine, inviting the viewer to rediscover the hidden connections between cultures, nature, and time.
Eldad layers paint on parchment paper, alternately revealing and concealing, creating a texture reminiscent of an archaeological act: each layer both covers and discovers, each brushstroke a motion of excavation and search. The transparency of the parchment paper allows the images to overlap, like layers of earth in an excavation, and the viewers are encouraged to decipher the chronological sequence for themselves. A colorful, turbulent tapestry unfolds on thin, almost breathing parchment paper - Layer after layer, like soil being dug up and revealing its secrets. The Acrylic melts and tears, covering and exposing, sketching a world where the work is an act of excavation. Each brushstroke is a discovery; each layer is also a cover. The hot colors burn and illuminate the fragments, inviting the viewer to stroll through the weave, collect signs, and create a personal or collective narrative from them.