In one of the many corners of he top floor at Berliner Liste stands Tal Frank, wearing long hair and a whole-hearted smile. She comes all the way from Israel and is one of the artists the  fair is helping showcase their work in art-center city, Berlin. During our talk, she guides me through the several pieces she is presenting at her booth. Catchy and misleading objects hang around, small installations that address her childhood years. The visitor can find an archive of books, toys, games and memories. Tal Frank was born and raised in Tel-Aviv and acknowledges Judaism history as marked by diaspora. Therefore, the urgency of leaving a place due to dramatic circumstances has really influenced her thinking process: what would she take with her if a war arose?

Even though the entire installation feels like a glass menagerie because of how delicately every object is built, she allows me to slightly touch the artworks. Every sculpture she creates is a simulation of readymade or materials; paper, clay, nylon. She gives these objects a twist, either conceptually or materially. For example, she carved two baseball bats into trees, a symbol of wood returning to its origins. She tells me, "Baseball is an American play and Israel is very linked to the United States, there is also a strong connection because this is an Elon tree, which you can find easily everywhere in Israel."

"Take always what you can carry" is the premise of her project here in Berlin. "My memories, that’s what I really want to take. As an Israeli, I have the feeling all the time that I have to move on." Thorough technique skills and wonderful childhood chronicles anyone can relate to, make sure you walk past her and open up the memory box, it will definitely take you places. 

Tal Frank [Price range of works: 500 – 4,000 Euros]

Article by Sofia Martinelli

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