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Tel Aviv, Manila fuse via bamboo art exhibit

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora

July 25, 2018, 5:40 pm

MANILA-- For Israeli fashion designer and artist Anat Heifetz, bamboo is not only a mere clump of stalks one would often see swaying in the Philippine landscape, but a medium where she can best combine her two homes-- Manila and Tel Aviv.

Heifetz started taking her fascination with the tropical plant a notch higher by putting her art into it two months after she arrived in Manila.

"I arrived in the Philippines in December 2015 and everywhere I traveled I saw those huge stalks of bamboo. The minute I saw it, it reminded me of fabric rolls. I wanted to somewhat turn those bamboo poles like fabric rolls so I started painting and carving on it," she told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

The more than 100 bamboo poles showcased at the "Bamboo Road: Tel Aviv-Manila" exhibit at the Ayala Museum in Makati City bears Heifetz's hand-drawn designs, mostly textures from fabric one would see in the fashion runway.

A dozen of dried bamboo plants featured at the gallery also carries some of her designs intricately carved by the famous Paete woodcarvers.

Being a fashion designer by profession, the art exhibit was a first for Heifetz.

"They're asking me 'Why? What's the idea?" Heifetz said.

For her, it's simply the desire to "fuse together" her background in fashion, her love for bamboo, and her two homes-- Israel and the Philippines.

"I love bamboo, I loved bamboo ever since, all my furniture in Israel are made up of bamboo. It signifies for me all the good qualities-- simplicity, serenity, flexibility-- something that you know, a bit spiritual," she said.

The exhibit's centerpiece, "The Sawali" symbolized Heifetz's "expression of the deep connection" she has for Tel Aviv and Manila-- a union of two cultures.

"The Sawali is my last work because in my parents' home in Israel, they used to hang at the entrance of our home a carpet. I decided to paint the sawali, which is part of a Filipino home, and bring together my home in Israel. I painted my parents' carpet in the Filipino sawali," she said.

The exhibit will be on view at the Ayala Museum Third Floor Exhibition Halls from July 25 to Aug. 19, 2018.

Present during its opening on July 24 was Israel Ambassador to the Philippines Ephraim Ben Matityau.

The exhibit was showcased in time for the celebration of Israel's 70th Anniversary and 60 years of the Israel-Philippines Friendship Treaty. (PNA)

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