Dan Svorai Presents his Backgammon Box

Appeasement in Art

The title is fairly self explanatory, it builts on the similarity between the words Peace, and Piece, meaning both the game pieces themselves and the symbolic fragmentation of them in the work. It is interesting to note that the word Piece is also the same in Hebrew: "Piec'ah".

The left side incorporates the original design of the game its'self. These shapes with little help became the houses of worship of the three religions.

Above them is a cloud made from the game pieces, which break apart and the colors cross to become new blended pieces, living peacefully in the height.

On the right side there is a "Peace Plant", working with cogs made from the original game pieces of different colors, interlacing to drive the factory.

From the factory come 2 different clouds, one black, one white, made from the game pieces. These clouds fragment, and then surprisingly rejoin in the form of birds, made from both dark and light pieces, each bird incorporating a whole entire piece.

The problem is the birds perch upon dice, symbolizing the chance destiny of the peace process in the region.

Both these sides are connected with a "Chain of Peace"…

The Outside:"…There is a place for a state or two" (popular Israeli song)

With minimal modification to the original game surface, the work represents formal symbols from the flags of both sides in this bloody conflict.

There are also informal representations of subtle symbols of both sides: Water tower, olive tree, modern urban townhouses, a bazaar, and a cypress tree.

All these symbols peacefully coexist in their space even though it is quite crowded.

The chain of peace, from the inside of the work finds its way outside…

In addition: there are three small works in the box, two of which are depictions of Caesarea, using materials from Caesarea its'self, and one work depicting a goat in the mountains of Galilee.