Page 9 - Lior Gal

Plein Air 2026

My prac,ce is rooted in the concept of traversals, adop,ng a symbolic approach to landscapes and shiVing it into a domes,c se[ng.
Recent projects have focused on the importance of mouvement as a form of freedom of expression, implemen,ng a link between arid
landscape photography and various aspects of kite flying, as well as experimen,ng with the sculptural poten,al of the photographic print.

Borrowing its ,tle from the 19th-century pain,ng tradi,on of working outdoors, Plein Air shiVs that impulse into a contemporary
photographic register. It is conceived as a mul,plex network of trajectories tracing the visible and invisible gestures of movement in space.
The aMen,on is drawn from the fixed image towards a dynamic process, promp,ng a rethink of what it means to move, to belong and to
connect in a world defined by constant mo,on.
Travelling, in this sense, becomes not only a physical act but a way of thinking.

Plein Air engages arid landscape as a site of encounter, revealing it as a place of joy and clarity. In the desert, movement is oVen perceived
as absence, a vast immobility that seems immune to ,me. Kites, on the other hand, react instantly to the impulse of the wind, they
translate turbulence into mo,on and reveal its unpredictable shape and rhythm.
The desert and the kite share a common vocabulary. Both are guided by unseen forces and shaped by condi,ons that are variable,
invisible, and oVen capricious, offering a way of exploring the world through responsiveness rather than control.

Plein Air unfolds as a constella,on of works through which various cultural contexts circulate.
It encapsulates the diverse registers and meanings of kites, from long-distance communica,on and coded messages to celebra,ng,
dreaming and protes,ng. The threads are specially designed for air baMles and are hand-dyed using natural pigments. A final coat of glass
dust is then applied in order to weaponise the kite, adding to its playful nature a state of conflict where joy and aggression coexist.