Tamar Roded Shabtay presented a new series of paintings and artworks, created in symbiotic connection with her surroundings in the Kanaim Valley, nestled in the heart of the Judean Desert.
In the desert, she gathered organic materials—porcupine quills, peacock feathers—which she wove into her multi-media installation at The Lab. Over time, this extreme, awe-inspiring, and intimidating landscape permeated her body and consciousness, emerging vividly in her work. When the desert seeps into the soul, it strips away superficial layers, uncovering only the essentials.
Her paintings, once thick with oil, grew diluted, almost ethereal, as the figures appeared lifeless and posed in unnatural forms. Their bodies, drained of substance, embodied a passion that transcended life’s conventional functions, freeing itself from socio-political constraints. Shabtai’s work expressed a profound wish to release the body, particularly the female body, from institutional forces that seek to restrain it.
Her connection to the wild desert was no accident; its natural laws, untouched by human control, reflected an inner desire for a life marked by free, tolerant, and balanced passion.

Photography: Youval Hai.