Amazing Sculpture of Burning Tires by Gal Weinstein
Tel Aviv based artist Gal Weinstein (born in Ramat Gan in
1970) is one of the internationally renowned artists of his generation.
Gal Weinstein is best-known for his project “Huleh Valley”, where he
created a large-format installation covering the floor at Helena
Rubinstein Pavillion for Contemporary Art in Tel Aviv and wall paintings
which address the famous swamp draining and land reclamation project in
Huleh Valley. The government had commissioned the drainage of the 1.5
square km lake in 1951, to convert it into arable land for future
generations of farmers.
In his exhibition in Kunsthaus
Baselland organized last year, Gal Weinstein presented his latest series
of works, “Fire Tires”. The motif of burning tires is a universal code
which we associate with socio-political unrest, revolution, and also
with various, mostly pagan customs. “Car tires are cheap fuel,” says the
artist and thus also explains why this material is used worldwide, when
a fire is started for fun or – as we increasingly experience it – fire
kindled as a symbol of (political and social) upheavals. The tires are
moulded from wax, the construction material consists of polystyrene foam
and the surface of the smoke clouds consists of artificial pillow
filling, complemented by multi-coloured graphite dust. Distributed in
the exhibition space, the sculptures become almost pop-art-like icons
that are able to enter into an immediate relation with the recipient due
to their quick legibility.
