Tools at Rest

In the lead-up to the opening of the exhibition “Tools at Rest” which opened at Ramat Hanadiv this month (21.9.21), we met with Tali Bichler, an artist and designer of play and activity spaces, for an interview about the journey to illustrating Shmita, the personal and collective connection to Shmita, and the way to make it accessible to our visitors.

Imagine that we were all in Shmita… imagine that for one year we would stop everything – we wouldn’t drive on the roads, we would work less and rest more…. imagine that there were no studies, no trains and no commerce… imagine that the regular rat race stopped and they would say to us “stop the world”. How would you feel?

Once, such questions were completely rhetorical, but it seems that today, in the midst of a global pandemic, we know and understand that not everything is in our control and sometimes we have no choice, and we also need to know when to stop. And do you know what? Maybe we can even learn about it and enjoy it…

In the lead-up to the opening of the exhibition “Tools at Rest”, we met with Tali Bichler, an artist and designer of play and activity spaces, for an interview about the journey to illustrating Shmita, the personal and collective connection to Shmita and the way to make it accessible to our visitors.

After the COVID-19 year people underwent some kind of Shmita year. It seems that today it is easier for us to understand words like stopping, relaxation and rest

What is your personal connection to Shmita?

‘My starting point was that after the COVID-19 year people underwent some kind of Shmita year. It seems that today it is easier for us to understand words like stopping, relaxation and rest – words that our land deserves and that we should identify with.’

How do we make an issue such as Shmita accessible to the public?

‘The thought was to take it to the common denominators that talk about universal values that are connected to Shmita; thus we created seven stations that represent seven years. Each word is a station that represents a value, arouses thought and creates an activity connected to Shmita.

One of the characteristics of the creative process was movement. The project keeps on developing and becoming clearer;

I believe that it also encourages movement in space. It does not have a linear order of activity, but rather freedom and encouragement of movement throughout the gardens – movement that connects to the rhythm that the Shmita brings. ‘It was very important to us that our work should be connected to the values that characterise Ramat Hanadiv and also connect us on a personal level.

Thus we were adamant that the materials we used would be environmentally friendly with maximum reuse. In fact, everyone who visits the exhibition gains inspiration from the choice of materials, from the printed boards to the tool box given to each visitor to the exhibition, which becomes a breeding box at the end of the visit.’

we created seven stations that represent seven years. Each word is a station that represents a value, arouses thought and creates an activity connected to Shmita.

What is your personal connection to the word ‘Shmita’?

‘I really love religion and tradition. At Ramat Hanadiv the public is very diverse – some are religious, secular, Jewish, Arab. The content targets a broad common denominator.

‘We talked about this a lot at home. There is something in this, like a sabbatical year for a teacher, like the Sabbath. We must stop to renew our energies so that we can bloom and grow once again, and it’s very easy for me to connect to this.’

What would you like people to take away from this exhibition?

‘I would like people to look at reality slightly differently. The visit here is about time together. We tried to introduce honesty and simplicity and more than anything this is what I would be happy to pass on.’