The short film Studio Visit with Liat Segal is available to watch at the top of the page.
Media artist Liat Segal continually pushes boundaries, turning abstract concepts like words and sounds into tangible art forms such as drawings and paintings. Her studio, nestled in Kiryat Hamelacha in Tel Aviv, houses a unique machine that epitomizes her creative approach. This machine, a fusion of art and technology, paints on a large canvas following an algorithm developed by Segal. Her background in computer science aids her in creating these innovative tools that breathe life into her artwork in unexpected ways. The algorithm can translate texts into machine-led brush movements, crafting an infinite array of drawings that draw inspiration from the textual content. For a glimpse into her innovative process, we recommend watching the video of my studio visit to Liat’s, located at the top of the page.
A project that clearly embodies Segal’s innovative approach is the Plate Recorder. It takes collected sounds and their stories and etches them onto ceramic plates, transforming intangible sounds into a visual work of art. The goal is to embrace the imperfections – overlapping lines, movement in the overglaze, and ambient noise. While recording, adjustments to the machine’s sensitivity and the speed of the recording process add a personal touch to each plate.
Her latest artwork, Impossible Object, was created in collaboration with Yasmine Meroz. This unique sculpture, made of liquid water flowing through a formation of brass rods and tubes, defies gravity and can only exist in space. Without gravity, water clings to the sculpture’s structure, creating a dynamic 3D form shaped by surface tension and adhesion forces. The artwork questions traditional concepts of shape and form, presenting a structure resembling a directionless wavy staircase.
Impossible Object is a research-based art project that utilizes micro-gravity physics. Activated and documented on the International Space Station (ISS) by astronaut Eitan Stibe during the AX-1 mission in April 2022, it formed part of the Rakia Art Mission. AX-1 marked the first private astronaut mission to the ISS, a collaborative effort between SpaceX, Axiom Space, and NASA.
In the accompanying studio visit video, Segal shares her ambitions to challenge and expand traditional concepts of art creation through technology. It invites viewers to ponder fundamental questions: What is a work of art, and who is the true creator?
The featured video Studio Visit with Liat Segal is part of the web series Yotsrim by Shachaf Dekel. Yotsrim includes five seasons and 73 episodes. The series won the Best Documentary award at the NYC Web Fest in 2019.
