The Israel Museum will unveil a captivating new exhibition on September 27 by artist Gaston Zvi Ickowicz. Among its highlights are poignant photographs by the late Roy Idan, a talented Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth photographer. Idan lived with his family in Kibbutz Kfar Aza and was murdered by Hamas terrorists on the morning of October 7.
From the exhibit
(Video: Gaston Zvi Ickowicz, Roy Idan)
In a powerful narrative, Ickowicz's work chronicles the field where participants of the Nova Festival in Kibbutz Re'im sought refuge after a harrowing attack by Hamas. This exhibition, featuring a mesmerizing video projection and vivid photographs taken by Ickowicz in the aftermath of the massacre, offers a new perspective on the Gaza envelope landscape – now a haunting emblem of devastation and loss following the Hamas assault and massacre.
The photo series "Shelter," a compelling part of Ickowicz's work to be showcased in the exhibition, captures the pits, bushes and furrows that served as desperate hiding places for young people fleeing for their lives from the Nova complex. The second series, "Object," centers on mysterious items left behind in the party area, later identified as remnants of vehicles melted during the vicious terrorist attack.
Previously, Ickowicz collaborated with Roy Idan by incorporating his photographs into his work "Sunset Over Gaza" (2018). Following Idan's murder, Ickowicz revisited these raw materials and received the blessing of Idan's family to include them in the exhibition.
On the fateful morning of October 7, Idan captured images of Hamas terrorists infiltrating his kibbutz using motor-powered hang gliders and then returned to his home, where he was murdered alongside his wife, Smadar. Two of their three children, Michael and Amalia, survived by hiding in a closet. Their 3-year-old daughter, Abigail, was kidnapped to Gaza and subsequently released on November 26.