Cover/Discover, 2019, Dana Bloom

Photos: Hadar Saifan

What

Clay, gold foil wrappers (readymade), ink, pigment, polyurethane; 3-D printing, stamping

Who

Dana Bloom, b. 1981

Why

“My children’stoys serve as a source of inspiration. I spread the gilded foil used to wrap chocolate pralines over my daughters’ dolls, molding it to their faces and to different body parts. The presentation of the resulting figures as a multilayered screen stemmed from the desire to show each figure from both sides – interior and exterior (positive and negative).

I was astonished by the ease with which the gilded foil transformed the dolls into new figures with clearly identifiable features, while maintaining the delicacy and fragility of a shell. The foil was then dipped in polymer to preserve its form and ensure its durability.

These reliefs, made of industrial gold-foil candy wrappings, embody the tension between past and present. They create an encounter between the ancient metalsmithing processes of chasing and repoussé (chiseling fine facial details into a flat sheet of gold against a wooden mold), used to create singular artworks (one-offs), and design in the era of mass-production.

Where

On display at the Rothschild Gallery, Tel Aviv Biennale of Crafts & Design, MUZA – Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv.