Lion and the Pussycat - Beita

Lion and the Pussycat Curator: Avital Naor Wexler

Curator: Avital Naor Wexler
Artists: Moran Kliger, Rinat Goldberger, Ruth Tal, Farid Abu-Shakra, Dov Abramson, Revital Falke, Rachel Radashkevitch, Sovar Lerner, Roy Margaliot and Shahar Sarig Musrara Collection
11.3.18 -19.4.18

Two feline extremities, tugging at Jerusalem's boundaries, stretching the city taut between them; two dimensions of existence.

One hails from a family of monarchs: regal and gracious; a symbol of majesty and power.
The second – dweller of contemporary streets, a homeless vagabond, lacking recognition and status, accomplice in street brawls and the daily struggle to survive.

The lion serves as a symbol of the city and is identified as its historical and biblical consciousness.
His image is positioned throughout the city in various forms: on building tops, as logos on official paperwork, adorning the Holy Ark and Torah scrolls in synagogues, as statues and souvenirs; however he is also found on benches, garbage bins, and loitering around drain covers.
The Jerusalem lion is always male. He is a prevalent visual image, usually two-dimensional, and he sometimes appears as a statue. Yet we almost never encounter him as a live creature - to befriend or fear, whose fur we can gently caress, or whose mouth we can feed.