Aya Ben Ron

Artist Statement

Aya Ben Ron examines possibilities of healing, of repair and recovery of the individual and society, within the context of power dynamics between the powerful and the vulnerable. Her work challenges behavioral norms, and enables a direct encounter with situations of physical, mental or social weakness. Examining cultural perceptions and representations of ‘sickness’ and the ‘sick’ throughout history, in order to understand the extent of their influence on our personal and collective lives.

Ben Ron employs both artistic and design tools, emphasizing “user experience” within the space — her artistic work resonates with the general public, and is based on extensive collaborations with medical institutions and hospitals in Israel and worldwide.

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Biography

Aya Ben Ron (b. 1967, Israel) is the founder and director of Field Hospital X. She is a multidisciplinary artist, received an MFA from Goldsmiths College, London (1999). She is a professor at the School of the Arts at Haifa University and head of the Art Depatrment. Her work ranges from site specific projects and installations to moving-image, documentary and film, and includes collaborations with medical institutions and hospitals in Israel and around the world. She was awarded the Creativity Encouragement Prize, The Ministry of Education and Culture (2016), the Dizengoff Prize (2011), and the Isracard and Tel Aviv Museum of Art Prize for an Israeli Artist (2009). Recent screenings, solo exhibitions and site specific works include: Busan Bienalle, Korea (2016); The Last Voyage To Cythera, Front (online since 2015); All Is Well, Máxima Medisch Centrum/Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven (2013); A Voyage To Cythera, Berlin Museum of Medical History (2012); First Aid Station, Aando Fine Art, Berlin (2012); Rescue, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem (2012); Shift, Aando Fine Art, Berlin (2010). Group exhibitions include: Tracing the Edge of Consciousness, The Wellcome Trust Gallery, London (2016); Out of Body, The Israel Museum (2013); Blackout, Exhibition Research Centre, Liverpool (Look/2013); It Doesn’t Always Have To Be Beautiful Unless It Is Beautiful, Kosovo Art Gallery (2012); Siyah/White, CDA-Projects, Istanbul (2012); Another World is Possible, Yaffo 23, Jerusalem (2011); Black and White, MOMA in Warsaw (2011); Die Untoten: Life Sciences & Pulp Fiction, Kampnagel, Hamburg (2011) Life: A User’s Manual, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem (2011); Darkside II: Photographic Power and Violence, Disease, and Death Photographed, Fotomuseum Winterthur (2009), among others.

Aya Ben Ron represented Israel at the 58th International Art Exhibition at the Venice Biennale, 2019, with Field Hospital X (Curator: Avi Lubin, Producer: Miki Gov).

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