Muhammad Abo Salme: Cascade
The installation Cascade by the artist and lighting designer Muhammad Abo Salme is on view in the Lightfall space—a unique architectural setting whose character changes with variations of natural light, and forms the building’s central axis. The walls of the Lightfall are alternating bands of concrete and inward-facing openings, inviting a choreography of flow and intervention. The intricacy of the installation is heightened by this vertical and angular space, as is the challenge that it poses—namely, to surround it and examine it from every angle and gradually experience its power.
What appears at first glance to be a dense mass of optical fibers or glass beads turns out to be thousands of yards of metal chains—a familiar and simple material, but one imbued with meaning. Used, in part, in military dog-tags, these chains have assumed a particularly poignant symbolism since October 7, 2023, when they came to represent the struggle of the families of Israeli hostages in Gaza.
The chains hang densely, arranged in almost mathematical precision, forming a huge mass that appears to be about to burst forth in a tremendous, powerful surge. However, an ambivalence emerges from its dual and contrasting effect of a beautiful, sparkling and light-filled space containing something on the constant brink of imminent collapse. This tension invokes oscillation between awe and fear.
When water descends from a great height, it changes: turbulent currents are formed in which air bubbles are trapped and the surface of the water churns and seethes—such is a cascade. So, too, with this installation: The more one moves around and into it, the more one experiences the drama of the encounter between matter, light, and movement. While the dog-tag chain harbors a distinctly local association, the installation is about all human loss that results from the act of war.
Cascade was created as a site-specific and time-dependent installation. The light that illuminates the chains, ranging from bright white to warm yellow, heralds the possibility of change. When the installation opened in May 2024, it conveyed a sincere hope that the current reality of life would change, that the war would end, and all the hostages would return. So, too, the meaning of the light may change.
Muhammad Abo Salme (born 1989, lives in Katzir) holds a BFA in Filmmaking from Sapir College. His work engages with the connection between performance and its visual impression. He began his career in filmmaking and, through his interest in capturing cinematic visions, went on to work as a lighting and stage designer for musical concerts. This is his first museum exhibition.
Installation view
Photo: Elad Sarig
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The installation is generously supported by the Kirsh Foundation and Mr. Harry Haberman. Additional support was provided by the Friends of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in Israel and the Young Friends of TAMA