The environments and spaces are meticulously modeled as miniaturized maquettes that are subsequently documented in large-scale photographs. Objects, mostly pieces of furniture and architectural elements, inhabit these carefully designed settings, generating residential and work environments. The models were photographed, printed, enlarged, and finally mounted within light boxes with smooth aluminum frames. The use of maquettes originated from a desire to void the original spaces in which people operate of any redundant element, with the intention of leaving an empty space where the process of evacuation is strongly felt.

Carefully and clearly defined at first sight, these spaces are misleading. The interior design is illusive, devoid of present, past or future – like a time that had undergone a process of voiding. The real but emptied spaces instill the viewer with a sense of shock. Exposure to them renders the beholder geographically, emotionally and mentally disoriented. The shock does not result from a one-off contact, it builds up in the course of viewing; the lengthier the viewing, the more obscure it becomes. The viewer’s present crystallizes from a state of detachment, alienation and a denial of access and identification. The desire to cling to a specific element, event or site is a human need that remains unsatisfied here.

Hagai Segev

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