2012

Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem, Israel

Interactive installation

B.F.A. graduation project

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Aquarium Arcade was my B.F.A. graduation project: a sensory arcade of longing, chance and cultural memory. I recreated a surreal version of the Israeli street arcade, with a lotto booth, a candy machine and an MP3 station, each standing for a different kind of desire, reward or escape.
The MP3 station was made from three old reflex cameras, turned into sculptural listening devices, each with a speaker inside. Held to the ear, each camera played a musical chart, like eavesdropping on someone’s inner world. Every station was built from an algorithm and a mix of materials, plastic together with raw, organic matter. The floor was hand-painted with plastic watercolor, so the room felt fluid and artificial, like stepping into a glowing aquarium.
Visitors were invited to touch, listen and play. Without telling people what to feel, the installation opened a space in which to notice how systems of reward and comfort shape us, often without our noticing.

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