Tom Born’s wall installation Land, City, War presents a charged diptych, oscillating between innocence and terror, between playfulness and destruction. On one side, an image of childhood innocence games, joy, and the seemingly normal routine of childhood. On the other, a stark, piercing image of a rifle symbolizing power, violence, and war. These images are crafted from simple yet powerful materials black and white plastic zip ties, woven into a sculptural form against a metal mesh backdrop.
Born’s work is deeply influenced by the traumatic events since October 7th. Collective pain, shock, and the complexities of Israeli existence during wartime are embodied in the material, structure, and visual weight of the piece. Traces of violence and fragility serve as existential markers, reflecting both personal and universal conditions. The thoughts of war, the abducted, the fallen, the wounded, and the displaced are deeply embedded in his consciousness, often resulting in a laborious creative process that leaves him physically scarred.
In his call to revisit childhood innocence inevitably intertwined with violence, survival, and our sociopolitical reality Born confronts us with the duality between the world of childhood and the adult world that forces its way in. A world where play is no longer merely play, and war is not a distant concept but a constant presence in everyday life. His aggressive aesthetic captures moments of violence, yet within it, symbols of innocence a teddy bear, a toy car, a girl in a red dress with a balloon soften the ongoing tension between destruction and creation.
Avital Katz
Exhibition Curator
