Yochai Matos

Born 1977, lives and works in Tel Aviv. Graduated in 2004 at the Bezalel Academy of Art & Design, Jerusalem. His work deals with the public space as a property, taking place in both fields; on the streets and inside the established Art world – searching the cross points between the two disciplines.

Yochai Matos uses in his works basic and simple images derived from the Modern Culture; images which already contain layers of replication and recycling – an evolution which leads both to the depletion and the over-readability of these images. By dealing with pop and kitsch icons (such as sunsets; flames of fire; a heart; a couple of dolphins jumping over the water; or even the nostalgic logo of the television series Fame) Matos wishes to touch once again the romantic, authentic and lost emotions, suggesting a simple and comforting way of confronting the contemporary disease of emotional disability. Furthermore the hypnotic WOW-effect of the flickering fluorescent lights functions as a warm welcoming hand to join and feel and experience the artifact and simultaneously alienates the viewer (on stage or at the Museum) by literally dazzling and flattening the space – this ambiguous sensation reflects and emphasizes our atmosphere, the way our surrounding culture progresses, emotionally, physically and virtually. In Love Fire Matos intervenes in the last scene by using both fake and hyperreal materials and methods in reaction not only to the dance itself but also to the Stage Arts discipline in general.

Matos has exhibited solo shows and has attended in group shows in Europe, US and in Israel.

www.yochaimatos.com