Art

Memory Thiefs

2022, Edmond De Rotchild Center, Tel Aviv

A few years ago the artist’s hard drive, which stored unfinished art, broke. In the exhibition in Edmond De Rotchild Center Fridman presented a sculpture and a video work which commemorated the lost memories, which can no longer be restored. The broken drive was on display in an elaborated memory box,  despite its mundane visibility and unintelligible contents. This exposes the random nature of memories’ existence – both in humans and in electronics.

The exhibition also featured a video which he shooted in the gallery, showing him and his sister Shir Fridman braeking into the gallery and stealing the hard drive. 

Photos: Tom Gan-Or

Following the workshops of the Old Masters

2023, Inga Gallery, Tel Aviv

2024, Cookhouse Gallery, London, curated by Cheo Gonzalez as part of the Queer Museum

The photo series is of 7 self-portraits which aim to shed new light on the people behind the scene of creating an art work. A carpenter, an assistant, studio worker, a model and art collectors. In a long process following a comprehensive research on European fashion of the 16th and 17th century I made the costumes by hand sawing them one by one. As an artist I found the encounter with other craftsmans as fruitful but also challenging because of our different perspectives on art. In this body of work I tried to rearticulate this tension, and to look at art from a point of view other than mine.

Installation photo by: Jon Patrick Croskrey

Fragments 2 - with Alma Gershuni

2024, Cookhouse Gallery, London, curated by Cheo Gonzalez as part of the Queer Museum

The artist Niv Fridman and the painter Alma Gershuni created a series of 3 fragments of a broken body based on the casts made from Fridman’s body. 

The body casts bear two different modern-like tattoos, thus blurring the perception between historical and fiction. The tattoos echo two homoerotic tales from mythology: That of the beautiful narcissus who fell in love with his image and turned into a flower and that of Zeus who disguised himself as an eagle to tempt the beautiful prince Ganymede.

Installation photo by: Jon Patrick Croskrey

Old Books

2023, Jerusalem Design week, Hansen House

The artist planted drawings and photos of himself in old books, using traditional bookbinding techniques and digital image processing.

In the works there is a reference to the concept of disguise, as Fridman himself embodies the historical figures that he so carefully researched as well as creates their details at every stage of the process, from sewing the costumes to writing the texts, editing and post production. Fridman’s action of disguise sheds new light on archival documents and raises questions about the heterosexual point of view and the manner in which it shapes history. His works challenge the accepted differentiations between truth and fiction, past and present, reality and imagination. 

Herzel in Tel Aviv

2023

Benjamin Ze'ev Herzel, the father of the nation, appears in the photo series in the modern day centre of Tel Aviv. The scene takes place In the city which was named after his famous book, where he calls the Jews to come back to their motherland and found a new state. More than 120 years later - is his utopian vision still relevant? In the site where only a night before a major protest on the future of the nation took place, the artist is walking around dressed as Herzel in a contemplative mood. Is he sad about the way in which his vision came to life? Is he judgmental? Is he crying in tears of happiness? Those questions are resonating in this photo series, which leave the viewer with a room to imagine, where in every picture Hazel's eyes tell a different story. 

Rooftop view in Tel Aviv

2016

sculpture.

Paper, cardboard, plastic, roof sealant.

Fountain (Battersea Canal)

Exhibited at the Queer Hedonism exhibition, London. curated by STOGGAF collective.

2024

sculpture.

mixed media

Fountain

2018

sculpture

Ceramic tile, porcelain basin, plastic, wood, paint, blue dishwashing liquid.

Presents

2016, Beit Alliance Jerusalem

4 m x 2m 

sculpture. 

Presents

2022, Beit Ariela LGBTQ Festival, 

4 m x 2m 

Instellation

Towers of Afula

2015, Somewhre in Afula

Graffiti

-

2015

Wooden boxes with glass, Vegtebles

Israeli Fabergé egg

2016

Mixed media sculpture, Israeli egg

Sufganiyah

2016

Paper, jam, Sufganiyah

Following René Magritte 

2013

Cereals, milk, a plate