French Manicure

At the current exhibition I am presenting new works from the past 4 months, all showing regular objects such as reading-glasses, sweat-shirts, a salt-shaker, a perfume bottle, etc. Each object is a part of the physical reality that surrounds me and concerns simple and basic actions of my daily life.
The war in Iraq, which was in the offing, had become part of the routine of everyday life and had acquired new meanings. Among other things, it had become a diversion. Everything had suddenly sharpened.
I can smell the omelette I made for supper, on the T.V. they’re analyzing the situation, again, my nails need urgent re-doing, and the freshly folded clean laundry needs to be put in the closet.

I have not chosen those objects out of some sentimental need to perpetuate. Instead, through them I am underlining dozens, hundreds, even thousands of mundane actions and objects that are nearly always in my immediate line of vision.
That emphasis is leading me to realistic, highly detailed painting that pulls my choices out of their usual anonymity and sets them on a podium.

As a start I took photographs with a digital camera inside my house, at different hours of the day, of almost everything and anything I saw. Screening was done on my computer immediately after shooting. The immediacy and the accessibility enable me to choose and decide intuitively and spontaneously.
The process of shooting and choosing the photographs is almost random and impulsive, but in fact, this is where the action ends.
The rest of the process is slow, and carefully planned. I work with oils, layer over layer, and I mull at length over each and every tiny detail. This time I have worked with smaller formats than in the past. They provide me with intimacy with the chosen object and with the painting.

Hagit Shahal

About the exhibition at Sarah Erman gallery, 2003