In her site-specific ready-made installation Slingshot, artist Aya Sarig reconstructs the ancient weapon used to hurl stones known from biblical sources for its speed and precision. Using assemblage techniques, she dismantles old wooden furniture, connects the pieces with elastic jersey cords, and layers translucent parchment paper. Suspended like a mobile from the narrow bridge in the museum’s upper floor, the work balances weight and lightness, shifting subtly as viewers change their perspective.
The slingshot, primitive and simple, appears in several biblical texts as a weapon requiring great skill. It is most famously tied to the story of David and Goliath, symbolizing the triumph of faith over brute strength and the victory of the weak against the powerful. Over time, the slingshot has taken on new meanings as a hunting tool, a mischievous toy in children’s street games, or a symbol of forceful resistance in protests.
In Sarig’s interpretation, the slingshot becomes a complex, almost grotesque object suspended between aggression and defense. Its stone, seemingly heavy, is in fact too light to cause harm and too transparent to conceal. This paradox highlights the fragile space between power and vulnerability.
Set against the backdrop of current events, Slingshot evokes questions about the nature of power, the cost of using it, and the fear that deploying force may ultimately lead to collapse from within. Caught between the need to protect ourselves and the longing for peace, Sarig offers a slingshot that may never release its stone and perhaps, that is precisely the point.
Avital Katz
Curator
