Iris Nesher's 'Materia' Explores Motherhood and the Female Body at Nomas Foundation

The exhibition 'Materia' by Israeli artist Iris Nesher, curated by Raffaella Frascarelli at Nomas Foundation in Rome, delves into the concept of motherhood and the female body. Through photographs, videos, and ceramics, Nesher presents a collective narrative of women's experiences—choosing or not choosing motherhood, desiring it, or freely deciding against it. The show features a series of portraits that form a visual book of stories, alongside ceramic works created collaboratively with a group of writers, scholars, musicians, and artists, reinterpreting traditional female crafts with contemporary significance. Broken vessels, cups, and plates bear visible wounds and scars, yet are restored to their function of sharing. A key work is 'Out of Time', a slideshow depicting the artist's adolescent son Ari, who recently passed away, in museums and during family travels, capturing moments of rest and exhaustion. The video 'Healing' portrays poet Hedva Harechavi confronting loss in a vitalistic manner, reminiscent of Joan Didion's 'The Year of Magical Thinking'. The exhibition draws connections between the sacred, motherhood, and art, without explicit elaboration.