Eucalyptus Grove (2001)

Solo exhibition at Jerusalem Artists’ House, Jerusalem
Curator: Joshua Borkovsky

First solo show, soon after completing studies in Bezalel, a part of "Nidbach" project, established curator hosting a young artist .

The show The Eucalyptus Grove exhibited eight variable size paintings, all done with felt-tip pens ("markers"); a technique, which has become synonymous with Petel in the early 2000s.

The show revolved around the relation between designed gardens and militarism. At its core, the painting Reactor (2001 ), taken from an official photo of the Pakistan nuclear reactor. The painting presents a groomed garden, at its center two structures, one designed as a dome and the other as a tower, at the fringes of the garden are eucalyptus groves. In other paintings, Middle Eastern leisure resorts - gardens and leisure facilities, portraits of Israeli soldiers, emphasising fashion choices in their attire, and drawings of objects and plants embodying high decorative value. The show used paintings to trace the relationship between nature and culture, and discussed the relation man makes in nature, in order to represent its attributes on the one hand, and mask them on the other hand.

The show, which was exhibited during the first years of the Internet as a mass source for images and new political use of images, raised questions regarding the possibilities of painterly representation of exposed and hidden materials in this new era.