The Living Room is an artist’s book in four chapters, moving in ongoing leaps between past and present, between my family home in Beit She’an and the studio in Tel Aviv.
Each chapter is accompanied by photographs, drawings, concrete casts, and textual fragments that wander between the diaristic and the prosaic — between what truly happened and the imprinted memories.
The first part takes place after an encounter with the empty house, confronted by an event of uncontrollable recollection.
Part Two is situated in my studio in Tel Aviv. During this time, I was working on sculptures that physically echoed the house, while continuing to visit it as it was being demolished.
The third part marks a moment of reflection; it reveals a conversation between the curator, Smadar Keren, and me, recalling the time we worked on the exhibition at URN Museum, along with installation photos from the show.
The final part takes place after the house is gone, while returning to Beit She’an and wondering: Do I still belong to this town, now that the house no longer stands? Now that the bond that tied me to it has unravelled?
Graphic Concept and Design: Studio Ayal Zakin, Tamar Plinner
Content Editing: Dr Ayelet Carmi
Linguistic Editing: Inbar Offer
Translation to English: Asaf Calderon
Netai Halup (b. 1991) is an artist, writer, and art educator who lives and works in Tel Aviv, and is a graduate of Metáfora, Barcelona. Among his solo exhibitions are Espronceda Center for Art (2019), Artport (2022), and Beit Uri and Rami Nehoshtan Museum (2023). His works have been exhibited in various galleries, among them Galeria Carles Taché, Galeria Angels, Zumo Museum, and Beit Binyamini.