Making of Makom

Portrait of Israeli artist Michal Rovner, as part of his exhibition at the Louvre Museum and the Espace culturel de Louis Vuitton in Paris. The exhibition documents the construction of two monumental stone structures revealing the multiple sculptural and human dimensions of this extraordinary project.

Israeli artist Michal Rovner created these colossal structures with the remains of stones from dismantled houses in Israel and along the West Bank. Makom II was built using light-coloured stones collected from the ruins of destroyed houses in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The artist chose to assemble individual stones to create a coherent structure that surprisingly leads to a simple square with a narrow vertical opening that allows spectators to see inside. Makom IV, just as gigantic, faces Makom II. It is made from dark stones taken from the border between Syria and Israel.

Michal Rovner’s ultimate intention with these structures is that they undergo geographical changes. It uses a classic archaeological technique of numbering each stone, which allows the work to be deconstructed and reconstructed anywhere.