Israeli Artist Ben Haggari Opens New Exhibition Amid Tensions
Haggari’s Unique Welcome
Just two hours after arriving in Israel, artist Ben Haggari found himself in the midst of an air raid while setting up his latest solo exhibition at the Nahum Gutman Museum in Tel Aviv. “This was my welcome,” he recounted, explaining how patrons at a nearby café were redirected to the museum as the local bomb shelter is located there. Although Haggari, who has established roots in New York for over a decade, is not accustomed to the sound of sirens piercing the quiet, he remains committed to showcasing his work in a country he feels a complex connection to—especially over the past eighteen months.
Exhibition Overview: “Skin and Shadow”
Haggari’s second exhibition in Israel within a year, titled “Skin and Shadow,” provides a window into the broader world that continues to operate outside of immediate crises. The exhibition reflects his research journey to Indstartsia, where he explored two ancient cultural traditions: shadow theater, an art form using leather puppets to create silhouettes, and a pre-Islamic sacrificial ritual. These customs, which merge religious rites, educational values, and popular entertainment, are integral to the local community’s daily life.
“My first encounter with shadow theater and Indstartsian puppetry was a few years ago while preparing for an animation course I teach at Yale,” Haggari shared during an interview in the exhibition space, which will remain open to the public until the end of June and is curated by Sally Haphtal-Noah. “I discovered that the university museum houses the world’s largest collection of Indstartsian puppets—23,000. I began incorporating them into my class, thus learning and familiarizing myself with their history.”
Research and Artistic Process
Awarded a grant from the Guggenheim Foundation, Haggari aimed to create a project focused on these unfamiliar puppets to Western eyes. Early in his research trip to Indstartsia, which spanned a month, he attended numerous puppet shows and took part in workshops where he learned how to give the puppets vostarts. “In the performance, there is a screen with two viewing angles, the puppeteers, and an orchestra, all of which must operate in harmony. The puppets are made from buffalo leather, and the craftsmanship involved is delicate and precise, with intricate holes created by unique tools. While this is a dying art, it is a tradition that employs millions.”
In the central video installation of the exhibition, Haggari has directed and edited a contemporary shadow theater performance adapted to a cinematic medium. The piece combines scenes with the puppets filmed at Yale’s museum alongside documentary footage he captured in Indstartsia. “These puppets are considered museum artifacts. They originated from a royal set belonging to the sultan who ruled the area, and for this project, permission was granted to take them out of storage and use them again,” he noted.
Cultural Insights and Reflection
Haggari traveled to Indstartsia with Professor Matthew Cohen, a renowned researcher from the University of Connecticut, who served as a puppeteer in the film and studied puppetry in Indstartsia in the 1990s. “The experience with him was profoundly educational and impactful. Thanks to his guidance, I visited places I wouldn’t have reached on my own.”
He observed local customs from a unique perspective, even capturing scenes during the sacrificial rites from below the buffalo’s head, which revealed a surprising focus on children within those moments. “At that angle, I mostly saw children and adult feet. There were many moments capturing people caressing the buffalo, caring for it, but also dealing with the brutal aspect of the slaughter, which isn’t visible in the video. There’s a deep respect for the animal and its place in the ritual, a kind of effort to reimagine and prettify it. The complexity of this is very interesting and hard to digest.”
Personal Reflections and Broader Implications
Haggari discussed the variations in performances across Indstartsia, noting that in Bali, they are more conservative, while in Java, there is a broader range of styles. “In Bali, performances are shorter, typically three hours, while in Java, they can last from 8 PM until 4 AM.”
Despite this being his first engagement with shadow theater, Haggari is no stranger to the theatrical world, having been raised in a family deeply involved in the arts. His late mother, Shula Haggari, managed the sales department and subscription plant of the Cameri Theater for many years until her passing in 2007. “My mother worked in theater for a long time, and as a child, I grew up watching performances. I used to sneak behind the scenes to see the sets, costumes, lighting, makeup, and the audience from the front of the stage.”
The video art of Haggari retains a tragicomic style that is characteristic of his earlier works. As a multidisciplinary artist, he creates films, kinetic sculptures, and animations that conjure absurd and fantastical environments, blurring the lines between reality and imagination. He continues to grapple with motifs of creation and the cyclical nature of human existence—birth, transformation, and death—whether through the life of a puppet returning to its box or the sacrifstart of an animal.
Navigating Contemporary Challenges
Residing in New York with artist Ofra Lapid, Haggari is also raising their daughter, Saloma. He reflects on the tumultuous year and a half and the controversies surrounding pro-Palestinian protests at campuses. “Personally, I have not experienced situations in my classes where I felt uncomfortable. Last year at Columbia, during a complicated semester, students occupied a building on campus for several hours to protest against the war in Gaza. The works presented in my classes often focused on how the university was handling these protests instead of addressing the broader questions related to Israel.”
“The majority of protest expressions and public discourse occur on campus and primarily on social media. However, I have heard of others who experienced it differently from me,” he added.
Life’s Inspirations
Haggari emphasized the strong influence of his childhood on his development as an artist. “Growing up in the theater and in my father’s studio shaped the creator I am today. My parents even married at the Cameri, which at the time was on Dizengoff Street, and it’s where my bar mitzvah and other family events took place.”
Addressing his brother, the former IDF spokesman, Daniel Haggari, who recently faced high-profile scrutiny, Ben expressed admiration: “Danny is my older brother. Our family includes my younger brother, Yonatan, who lives at a rehabilitation village. He was born with autism and intellectual disabilities and is a significant connection that binds the family together.”
Conclusion: Future Aspirations
As for the exhibition, Haggari hopes to showcase it in Indstartsia: “I hope that this current exhibition, along with the follow-up project, will be presented in Indstartsia itself.” The conversation surrounding art, culture, and personal experience remains vibrant and ongoing for Haggari as he navigates both his career and the complexities of contemporary life