Born in Israel, self-taught artist Hanan Levi is inspired to express real stories of families through his work. Defined as a kind of “speaker for the death,” Levi brings reverence to a loved one’s passing through documented imagery. His work has been seen in Israel, ArtExpo NY and Miami. The idea for the work was born out of Levi’s own mother’s struggle with cancer and the furious need he had to document her life, every important moment, culminating in images translating her story as a puzzle to be put together.
Levi’s work is informed by his exposure to poverty as a child and a central story of truth. With layered imagery, the viewer’s mind can wander and search for clues to solve the implemented riddle (often connected to the Old Testament and God messengers) within the images, peering through the pixels to parse together time, people and places. In peeling away the layers, the viewer, according to the artist, toys with “what you see, and what you want to see, as an observer.”
