Drawing No. 2, 2014

The artwork pledge

• QUALITY EDUCATION
• GENDER EQUALITY
• REDUCED INEQUALITIES
• SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES
• PEACE, JUSTICE, AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS

Tags

• Anni Albers
• Fascism
• Feminism
• Gender
• Israel
• Marina Abramović
• Mixed Media
• North America
• Performance Art
• Portrait
• Social
• Textile Arts
• United States

About this artwork

Inspired by mental institution building floor plans designed by Thomas Scott Kirkbride in the mid-19th century in the United States, Nelly Agassi reimagines the structures as conceptual structures. The typical floor plan of Kirkbride buildings, with long rambling wings arranged en echelon (staggered, so each connected wing received sunlight and fresh air), was meant to promote privacy and comfort for patients. In Agassi’s drawings and associated animated versions, the floor plans become a kind of Rorschach test that morphs into faces, masks, or reproductive organs. Mental institutions and women’s mental health have been sadly closely linked in the past, as women’s pains were not believed and extensive but unnecessary methods. Leaving the interpretation of the drawing open, Agassi provides space for connections to be made, inviting personal and intimate understandings.

More artworks by Nelly Agassi

• Nelly Agassi Burnt, 2000 Dvir Gallery €5,675
• Nelly Agassi Drawing No. 3, 2014 Dvir Gallery €5,675
• Nelly Agassi Sand it Better, 2002 Dvir Gallery €5,675

See all